


Three's Company, But Four Is More

by ImyourCardiganAngel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dad AU, F/M, Keith is awkward but sweet, Keith rides a motorcylce, Lance falls hard, Lance has kids, M/M, Shallura does too, hopefully somewhat funny too, its cute and fluffy, not adopted :), somewhat cliche but with my own twist I hope, they're adopted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-07-06 18:12:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 42,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15891354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImyourCardiganAngel/pseuds/ImyourCardiganAngel
Summary: Lance unexpectedly became a father just over a year ago and he's still adjusting to this new lifestyle. His friends have been a tremendous help throughout this journey, and they've all become closer because of it. This follows his life with two four-year-olds and all its frustrations and memorable moments-- perhaps the most memorable being when he met Keith.~~~This is a Dad AU fic full of fluffy moments! Keith being awkward but sweet with Lance's kids, and Lance slowly dying inside a little more every time.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I just kinda wrote this when I was experiencing writer's block for my other fics, and I liked how it turned out so why not post it? Purely self-indulgent, but I hope others will enjoy it too!

The first thing Lance learned about being a dad was to have no expectations, because when one formed expectations, your two four-year-old sons would find some way to exceed them, so it was best to go into the day simultaneously ready for anything and nothing at all.

So, when he was awoken by calculated pounces at six in the morning, he didn’t think twice about rolling over and greeting his little balls of energy with a wide smile. He stretched and wiggled his arms out from under the blankets, letting out a morning yawn that transformed into a roar, grabbing the two fluffy-haired boys and pulling them in close while they kicked and screeched. They eventually managed to wriggle free and dashed out of the room, laughing, and Lance rolled out of bed, following them in a sleep-hazed jog, occasionally bumping into the wall.

He found them in their small kitchen, climbing into their designated chairs- if one was in the wrong spot, the other would throw a fit- and sat there swinging their legs as they watched their dad make breakfast, aka fruit loops for Caspian and captain crunch for Arlo.  

Lance purposely mixed up their bowls, feigning confusion when they loudly protested.

“Oh, I thought you were Cas,” Lance said, pointing at Arlo, then rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Are you sure you’re Arlo, ‘cause I could have sworn yesterday you had blue eyes.” Lance acted like he was thinking really hard about this.

“No, papá! My eyes are brown, see?” Arlo proceeded to open his eyes as wide as he could, blinking rapidly at the same time, and Lance couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

“Ah, now I see.” Lance nodded his consent, switching the two bowls and ruffling the kids’ hair before turning back to make his own bowl of cereal- Cocoa Puffs.

“Papá, papá, look!” Caspian bounced in his seat as Lance sat down in his own, between the two kids, and when the child was sure he had his father’s full attention, he opened his mouth, still full of chewed cereal, and roared, albeit not loudly or fiercely, as was his intentions, Lance was sure, but he would never tell his little lion that. Caspian’s lips rose in a snarl, bearing his ‘fangs’ like he’s seen lionesses do many times on tv, and his small, upturned nose scrunched with his efforts. Lance struggled to hide his amusement, taking a bite of cereal to cover up his smile, nodding approvingly at Caspian.

Arlo stood up on his chair, shouting ‘papá, look at me’ before Lance had a chance to swallow his mouthful and give Caspian his compliments. Arlo raised his arms and bared his ‘claws’ along with his ‘fangs,’ releasing a roar with much more vigor behind it, albeit still not as intimidating as he had probably hoped. 

“Wow, looks like I have two scary lions on my hands!” Lance praised them.

“We’re not on your hands,” Arlo tilted his head, blinking in confusion.

“No, you’re not. I was using an expression for taking care of you two,” Lance explained, and Arlo nodded, seeming to understand, before sitting down and picking up his spoon once more.

“Were we too scary?” Caspian spoke up, eyebrows furrowed in concern. 

Lance smiled warmly at his son, leaning in closer like he was sharing a secret. “Your papa is too brave to be scared of lions.” He struck a pose, puffing out his chest and showing off his muscles. 

Caspian and Arlo giggled, and Lance commited the sound to memory, wanting that to be the only sound that fills this house. He leaned back and took another spoonful of his cereal, mind drifting away into other happy memories, Caspian and Arlo’s chattering settling in as background noise, until Lance was splashed in the face with milk. He jerked out of his reverie to find Caspian throwing spoonfuls of milk across the table at his brother, who was returning the favor. 

“Hey!” Lance said firmly, making the two boys freeze in place, milk dribbling off their spoons. 

“He started it! Arlo said he wasn’t going to drink his milk, so I was trying to help!” Caspian cried, dropping his spoon onto the table, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

“Throwing milk at your brother does nothing but make a mess, Cas,” Lance said, voice firm, but not yelling. Lance tried not to raise his voice at the boys unless it was necessary; he found they responded better to a strong, but not loud, presence. 

Caspian sniffled, his lower lip sticking out, and Lance handed him a napkin to wipe his nose, which he did albeit haphazardly, so Lance was sure he only succeeded in spreading it. 

“And, Arlo does not have to drink the milk if he doesn’t want to,” Lance continued to explain, and Caspian nodded. “Now we apologize, and then help me clean up.”

Caspian grumbled his apology to his brother, and it was returned after Lance raised his eyebrows expectantly at Arlo since he participated too, and they were rewarded with another smile from Lance. Then Lance collected the bowls, dumping them into the sink, and returned with wet paper towels, handing them to the kids so they could clean up the milk while he took care of the dishes. When they finished, they threw out the towels and ran out of the room, laughing once more. Lance dried the dishes and put them in their respective places before searching for where his children had run off too, easily finding them playing with their chest of toys in the living room, half its contents already spread out across the floor. 

“Hey,  _ los niños _ , it’s bath time!” He announced, watching the two play with a lazy smile.

“Why?” Arlo whined, drawing out the word, and Caspian parroted him.

“Because taking a bath in milk, while good for your skin, only makes you sticky.”

Caspian and Arlo seemed to ponder this for a moment, then Arlo yelled ‘race ya’ and took off for the bathroom, a giggling Caspian at his heels. Lance smiled and shook his head, then ran after them. 

Bath time was going smoothly until he left the room to grab three towels-- because he  _ was  _ going to get wet-- from the small closet across the hall. He returned to a mountain of bubbles in the tub, Caspian almost consumed by them, and squawked, dropping the towels and rushing to turn off the water to keep the mountain from growing.

“Arlo wanted more bubbles,” Caspian said simply, seemingly unbothered by half his face being covered in bubbles.

At the sound of his name, Arlo’s head popped up-- he was standing, but you couldn’t tell since his body was completely concealed by the mountain of bubbles. There were bubbles piled atop his head and hanging off his chin, and he wouldn’t meet Lance’s eyes as he tentatively revealed the bottle of bubbles. Lance took it and squawked again when he found it was empty.

“You poured the entire bottle in?!”

Arlo sunk back into the bubbles and Caspian giggled, throwing a handful of the white suds into the air. Lance threw the empty bottle in the trashcan and chuckled, not able to be mad when he remembers doing the exact same thing as a kid. He shrugged off his shirt, and dove his arms into the water, finding Arlo and tickling him until he revealed himself. Then the washing started, which was briefly interrupted by a bubble fight. 

By the end of it, Lance was sporting his own bubble goatee and thoroughly soaked, but he couldn’t care less. His lips were cracking with how wide he was smiling, and he could never be annoyed when his children were laughing as loudly and as brightly as they were. The sound was equivalent to feeling the rays of the sun on your skin, or the sound of windchimes when a warm breeze passes through them.   

When Lance finally wrestled the boys into their clothes after an hour of playing the usual game of hide and seek-- find a kid, put one article of clothing on them, repeat until dressed-- and made their wild hair presentable, it was almost two o’clock, the time he had scheduled a playdate with the Shiroganes. So, after hurriedly making himself presentable as well, he scooped up his children and rushed out the door, swiftly clipping them into their carseats with practiced hands. He arrived only ten minutes late.

He was surprised to see a motorcycle in the driveway when he pulled up, and mentally saved that piece of information for later, definitely wanting to hear the story of how Shiro convinced Allura to allow him to buy that, but for now, focused on getting his toddlers out of the car and into the house. He grappled under the seat for one of Arlo’s shoes which had  _ conveniently  _ fallen off during the ride over, and ran his fingers through Caspian’s curls in a useless attempt to tame them. He smoothed out his own wrinkled shirt as they approached the front door, then knocked out a cheerful tune, Arlo and Caspian’s attempts at mimicking it following afterwards. A tug on his pant leg drew his attention and he turned to see Caspian pointing at his untied shoe- he should really invest in some velcro sneakers- so he crouched down to retie it.

The door opened and Lance stood, brushing off his pants and painting his trademark brilliant smile on his face to greet Shiro or Allura, only to find it was neither. Instead, a man with piercing, yet captivating, eyes pinned him in place, and Lance’s mind stuttered, his eyes tracing the soft yet harsh features of his face. 

“Uh,” he said eloquently, tongue numb in his mouth.

“Shiro’s in the living room,” the mystery man replied, raising a gloved hand- who even wears fingerless gloves anymore- and motioning in some vague direction inside, and Lance watched the way the movement made his dark hair sway slightly. 

“Right, thank you,” Lance shook his head, coming back to himself, the charm returning to his smile. “The name’s Lance, by the way, since we haven’t met before.” Once more a tug on his pant leg drew his attention, and he found Caspian half concealed behind his leg, staring unsurely at the man. “And this is Caspian and Arlo, say  _ hello stranger! _ ”

“Hello, stranger!” They said simultaneously, Arlo with more enthusiasm, while Caspian was quieter. 

The man only raised an eyebrow and stepped aside to let them pass. Arlo ran right in, where as Caspian didn’t budge, staring at the man with wide eyes, still clinging to Lance. Lance huffed fondly, and bent down to his son’s level, placing a hand on his cheek to direct his gaze towards him. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Lance asked, though he already knew the answer.

“I don’t know that man.”

“No, so why don’t you ask him his name?” Lance smiled encouragingly, but Caspian shook his head, drawing closer to use Lance’s body as a shield. Lance flashed the man an apologetic smile, then wrapped Caspian in his arms, leaning down to whisper in his ear.

“Hey, remember your scary lion face?” He felt Caspian nod. “Why don’t you show this man that face, and then he won’t bother you when you pass, okay?” Caspian nodded once more, then Lance stood with Caspian still holding tightly onto one of his fingers. The boy liked to have at least one point of contact in situations that made him uncomfortable, and Lance found it endearing. He could see Caspian hesitating, so he decided to play catalyst. 

“What did you want to show this man?” He pressed.

Caspian bared his teeth, his little nose scrunching, and Lance bit his finger to keep his amusement from bubbling out of him. He glanced at the stranger, finding the man’s eyes already on him, and Lance offered a small shrug. The man looked back at Caspian, then slowly raised his hands, as if he was unsure of his actions, and backed away behind the door. Caspian dropped the act and looked up at Lance in surprise.

“I told you,” Lance chuckled, then guided the child inside.

Caspian smiled, then happily ran off when he heard Arlo and Stella, Shiro and Allura’s daughter, shouting about something. Lance watched him run off before turning back to the stranger, who had already closed the door.

“Thanks for playing along, Caspian gets shy around people he doesn’t know,” Lance smiled. The stranger only nodded, eyes flicking to the ground. “So, Mr. Broody, am I gonna get a name out of you or what?”

The man’s eyes flicked back to Lance, and he crossed his arms. “I am not broody.” Was he pouting? Lance thought he was.

“Sorry, would you prefer Edgy, Dark, and Handsome?” Lance countered, a smirk playing at his lips. So, he was playing hard-to-get? Good, Lance liked a challenge.

The man huffed and stalked past Lance, who turned and followed him into the living room, pausing when Stella rushed at him yelling ‘Tio Lance’ before jumping into his arms. He wasn’t actually her uncle, but when he became a very close friend he had insisted she call him that. He commented on how beautiful her braids were, then released her back into the wild, continuing into the kitchen where Edgy, Dark, and Handsome had disappeared into. As he approached, he heard Shiro’s voice, and paused, readying a dramatic appearance.

He slid into the modern kitchen, giving a spin and a flourish of his hands as he announced his arrival. When he turned to observe his audience, he found Shiro staring at him in amusement, the mystery man beside him looking annoyed-- that seemed to be his permanent expression-- and Allura sitting atop a bar stool, finding her glass of lemonade far more interesting than Lance.

“Allura,” he crooned, “why drink that when you can have a tall glass of this?” Lance motioned down his body, flashing her a flirty smile and wink when he finally caught her eyes, and she burst out laughing.

“I was actually wanting a margarita,” she said. “But I guess I can settle.” She blew him a kiss and Lance dramatically clutched it to his chest. 

“Watch out, Shiro! There’s a new sheriff in town,” Lance sauntered up to the huge man, placing his hands on his hips as if there were gun holsters resting there, he even tipped his imaginary hat. 

Shiro eyed him up and down, face serious, then squared up to him, miming drawing out a pistol and shooting it, making a  _ blam  _ noise to go with it. Lance clutched his chest where the imaginary bullet pierced him, and he sank to the floor with dramatics pouring out of his mouth. This seemed to have caught the attention of the children in the other room, and the trio came running in, Caspian and Arlo beelining for their father crumpled on the ground. They jumped on his stomach, the air leaving Lance’s lungs in a rush, and he shooed them away.

“Avenge me,” Lance wheezed. “Attack Takashi Shirogane!” Then he collapsed once more, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he feigned death. 

Arlo let out a screech and lunged for Shiro, wrapping around a leg, and Caspian giggled, following suit until he caught sight of the stranger, freezing in place. 

“Oh, hey, have you guys met Keith yet?” Shiro said with a soft smile, noticing Caspian’s discomfort. 

“So that’s your name!” Lance perked back up, flinching when Stella hit him atop the head with her plastic dinosaur, but proceeded to ignore her as she made the dinosaur travel down his face, jumping off his nose. “I thought I was going to have to keep calling you Edgy, Dark, and Handsome.”

Stella ran off to show her dinosaur to her mother, shoving it onto her lap before running back into the other room. Lance stood and leaned against the island at the center of the kitchen, one hand cradling Caspian’s head when the boy rushed over to him. 

“Keith is my brother,” Shiro explained, but that’s as far as he got.

“You never told me you had a brother!”  Lance interrupted, looking scandalized. 

“It just never came up,” Shiro shrugged apologetically. “He was overseas for a while.”

“You don’t look like each other, besides the dark hair and handsome features,” Lance pressed, glancing back and forth between the two men. Keith scowled, tucking himself in the corner chair of the table.

“I thought you were courting me?” Allura piped up, sipping her lemonade.

“You know I can’t seem to make up my mind,” Lance played along, flashing her a smile.

Shiro cleared his throat to capture their attention once more. “That’s because Keith’s adopted,” Shiro said simply, walking over to the fridge and pulling the chocolate milk out of the fridge, Arlo hovering beside him expectantly. 

“Oh, you’re like us!” Arlo said suddenly, pausing his pursuit of the chocolate milk to stare at Keith. “Papá adopted us! He can adopt you too!” 

“No, no, no, Arlo, he’s already been adopted,” Lance explained. “So, he has a family. Shiro’s his brother, like Caspian is to you.”

“Oh,” was all the kid said, happily accepting the glass of milk Shiro handed him with a ‘thank you’. “Well, he can still be a part of our family, right?”

Lance smiled at his son. “Sure, if he wants to.”

Arlo didn’t say anything else, focused on his chocolate milk now. Caspian emerged from behind Lance for the sake of chocolate milk as well, and seemed to relax at hearing those words, but he still shot Keith suspicious glances. Stella had also returned, holding another dinosaur and this time taking it over to Keith, who leaned forward to listen to what she was telling him. Lance watched the exchange for a moment then turned to Shiro with a lopsided grin.

“So, how’d you convince Allura to let you have that sweet bike out there?”

Shiro snorted and Allura muttered ‘as if.’

“That’s my bike.” Lance glanced up to find Keith now at the other end of the island, those intense eyes fixated on him, and Lance felt he couldn’t look away. 

“Ah,” he said casually. “That makes more sense.”

His attention was drawn away as Stella handed him a dinosaur too-- seemed she was going to have no problem sharing-- which he accepted with a wide smile. He turned back, intending to pay attention to the conversation going on between Keith, Allura, and Shiro, but was dragged away by Arlo and Caspian, each tugging on an arm.

“Papá, you have to come see Stella’s new train set!”

“It lights up and makes ‘choo-choo’ noises!”

Lance laughed and let himself be dragged away, settling down in the living room and proceeded to listen as each kid brought up a toy and described its function while giving a demonstration on how to play with it. He was soon surrounded by a pile of toys.

“Let’s have a tea party!” Stella announced suddenly, and the boys cheered in agreement, abandoning the toys they were holding. “But first, we need to get Tio Lance ready!”

“Ready? What, am I not beautiful enough for ya?” Lance said, feigning offense. 

“No, you’re  _ too  _ pretty!” Stella giggled, then rushed out of the room, quickly returning with a box, it’s contents bouncing noisily inside. 

Lance watched her curiously, then blanched when she opened it and he caught sight of the markers inside. 

“Oh ho, if you’re going to draw on my face, you gotta catch me first!”

Lance leapt to his feet and started jogging around the room, dodging chubby little hands that reached for him, smiling at the giggles and cries escaping the children’s lips. When they finally caught him, having to resort to nerf guns to bring him down, Arlo and Caspian hopped on his back and Stella settled in front on him, holding up a blue marker.

“Don’t worry Tio, I’m an artist,” she said, as if that explained exactly what she was going to do. But he didn’t argue and propped his head up on his fist to make it easier on the girl.

He smiled when she stuck her tongue out in concentration, but she quickly chided him because he was ‘messing up my butterfly,’ so he quickly dropped it, lips quivering with the effort. Arlo and Caspian were wrestling on his back, the occasional foot hitting the back of his head, causing Stella to yell at the boys to ‘settle down!’ 

Finally, the other adults entered the room, and the kids screeched and laughed as if to draw attention to what they’ve done, and Caspian started jumping up and down on Lance’s back.

“Ah, Cas, let’s not jump on papá’s back unless you’re going to give me a massage later, okay?” Caspian nodded, and hopped down, running off as Arlo chased after him.

“What exactly is going on here?” Shiro asked, crossing his arms, an amused tilt to his lips. 

“Well, Stella here suggested we have a tea party, but- ack!” Lance sputtered when Stella stuck the marker in his mouth, giggling when he squirmed. “I really hope these are non-toxic.”

“Tio Lance is too pretty!” Stella yelled, running into her father’s arms. She raised the marker she was still holding, but Shiro grabbed it before she could mark his skin. 

“Am I prettier than mommy?” Lance asked, fluttering his lashes at the little girl.

“No!” Stella giggled, burying her face into her father’s shoulder, peering back out at him with a smile. “No one’s prettier than mommy because she is a princess!”

“Well, it was worth a try,” Lance smiled, rising to his knees and cracking his back.

“We can’t leave you unsupervised anymore, you’re worse than the kids,” Allura giggled fondly, offering a hand to help Lance to his feet. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,  _ princess _ ,” Lance winked. 

“You’ve got a...little something on your…,” Allura motioned to her cheek in explanation, trying to hold back her laughter. 

“It’s a butterfly, Allura, obviously,” Lance corrected her, giving Stella a high five. 

“I can give you one too mommy!” Stella wriggled out of Shiro’s arms, stumbling into Keith, who righted her, and she flashed him a smile, one he returned on smaller level. 

“Do you want one Uncle Keith?” 

“No thank you,” he replied softly, and Lance felt himself smile.

“Aw, come on, we can be matching!” Lance said, slinging an arm around Keith’s shoulders.

He was rewarded with a glare, but Lance just kept smiling. Then Arlo and Caspian appeared, nerf guns in hand, shouting and laughing, and began to shoot at everyone. Out of reflex, Lance jumped in front of Keith to block the barrage of bullets flying towards them.

“Boys, we do not shoot at people who are unarmed,” Lance chided, then reached for a gun. He promptly shot it at Arlo’s stomach and the boy cried out in protest. 

Caspian gave a battle cry and dove forwards, only to be warded off by Lance’s bullets and he retreated, Arlo following, their laughter filling the room. Lance rested his gun on his shoulder and smirked back at Keith.

“You’re welcome.”

“For what?” Keith said, crossing his arms.

“Uh, for saving your life. I just took, like, five bullets for you!”

“They’re foam.” Keith didn’t look impressed, and that sparked something inside of Lance. He was going to get some kind of emotion out of this man before he left today.

“It was still honorable!” Lance huffed, turning back to look for where his sons ran off to.

“Whatever you say.”

Lance didn’t get to respond because it was then that Stella skipped up to hand a gun to Keith, who held it in his gloved hands like he had no idea what to do with it. Lance rolled his eyes; he was going to have to teach this guy to loosen up. Then all hell broke out, and bullets began flying everywhere. It seems Arlo and Caspian set off a nerf war because both Allura and Shiro had guns in their hands and were currently battling the two boys, who were quickly joined by Stella.

“Now’s the time to show me what you’ve got, hotstuff!” Lance said flirtily on purpose, even throwing a wink over his shoulder before diving into battle. 

It was a flurry of activity from there, Lance was hit in the face numerous times, but he didn’t care, just kept turning and shooting. He got Shiro right in the middle of his forehead, the man blinking in shock before firing rapidly at Lance, who ducked and rolled behind the couch. He found Keith there, and quickly raised his hands to pacify the man when he turned his gun on Lance. Lance couldn’t help but notice the nervous energy Keith was emitting.

“What’s up, never had a nerf battle before?”

Keith glared at him, but it held no heat, then sheepishly looked away. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Actually, I haven’t.” Lance fell silent, eyes wide. “I don’t want to hurt them.”

Lance knew he meant the kids, and couldn’t help the soft smile from forming at Keith’s concern. Then he gave Keith a lopsided grin.

“Don’t worry, these little guys are tougher than they look. Show no mercy on my little dudes, or they’ll just keep targeting you. I think they can smell weakness.” 

That got a chuckle out of Keith and Lance’s eyes rushed to take in the way his face lifts with his amusement before it was gone. Keith turned to him with a serious expression then, and Lance squinted in confusion, trying to read what he was thinking. Then Keith shot him in the chest. Lance squawked, but Keith only smirked.

“Show no mercy.” Then he rolled out from behind the couch, a triumphant smile on his face. 

“Oh, it’s on!” Lance muttered under his breath, following Keith. 

He was starting to like the fingerless gloves after watching Keith maneuver around the room, shooting with that smirk on his face that both infuriated and warmed Lance at the same time. They added to the badass vibes Keith was throwing, especially when he held the plastic gun like it was real, and braced his arms when shooting, as if there would be actual kickback. But Lance couldn’t stare too long, it made him vulnerable to bullets, so instead he targeted Keith so he had an excuse for staring at him.

By the end of their battle, the living room was a mess. Foam bullets littered the floor, those equipped with suction tips were stuck on the walls and lamps and whatever else got in the way, and the couch cushions were trampled on the floor, its pillows scattered-- Lance had used them as shields, but when he was forced to give it up thanks to the ‘rules’ he retaliated by chucking them at Keith. 

But a positive to come from this was that the kids were tuckered out, eyelids drooping and limbs dragging lazily. Caspian raised his arms at Lance, who obliged and lifted him into his arms, but then Arlo followed, and Lance had to situate a boy on each shoulder. 

“Hey, now, no falling asleep until papá gets you into the car!” He chuckled, bouncing them up and down a bit. 

He looked across the room to find Shiro holding a half-asleep Stella, her mouth still moving despite her body’s evident exhaustion. Allura approached him carrying Arlo’s shoes-- that kid was always trying to ditch his shoes for some reason-- and he accepted them gratefully.

“Thanks, ‘Lura. Sorry I can’t help clean up,” he said apologetically, but she waved him off.

“No worries, we’ll just rope Keith into helping out.”

“Ah, slave labor,” Lance chuckled. “Hey, boys, tell Auntie Allura thank you for inviting us over today.” He bounced the boys in his arms, hoping to awaken them slightly, but all he received were mumbled groans and half-hearted waves. “It seems sleep is the victor today. You guys still able to come over this weekend?”

“Yes, two o’clock again, right?”

“Yes, ma’am! Keith, you’re invited too!” Lance called out and the man in question glanced up, narrowing his eyes at Lance as he threw the pillows back on them couch.

Allura opened the door for him and he slipped out. It was a struggle getting the limp boys into their carseats, but he managed, glancing at them in the rearview mirror with a smile before driving off. He turned the radio on, volume quiet, and began humming along, smile still on his face.

 

***

 

Lance always knew when Hunk visited because the kids would announce his arrival with animalistic screeches of  _ ‘cookies’  _ since Hunk’s famous double chocolate chunk cookies were their favorite sugary snack. 

Hunk was an old friend and Lance’s best friend. The big guy had the softest personality, all warm hugs and bright smiles, which his kids ate up. The first time they had met him, they called him ‘bear’ not only because of his stature, but also because he gave such good hugs, like their teddy bears. 

So, he wasn’t surprised to walk into the room to see Hunk hoisting his children into his arms, spinning them around while they laughed and clung to him. They didn’t stray far when Hunk released them to pull Lance into his own bone-crushing hug, which Lance happily accepted. 

“Thanks for watching them today. I forgot I had to provide snacks for the get-together this Saturday since I  _ am  _ hosting it, and I’m running low on groceries anyway, so a trip to the store is much needed. It’s a huge help to not have to drag them along.”

Hunk nodded knowingly, patting Lance’s shoulder. “Hey, I got you, bro. We’re going to have way more fun anyway, aren’t we, little dudes?” Caspian and Arlo cheered in response.

“Teach us to make choc-y cookies,” Caspian said excitedly, jumping up and down.

“Not today, buddy. Hunk has to save them for the party,” Lance explained, ruffling his curly hair. 

“We can play lions!” Arlo announced, tugging on Hunk’s hand, which dwarfed his own. 

“Yeah! Hunk is momma lion since papá can’t!” Caspian immediately jumped on board, latching onto Hunk’s other hand.

Lance chuckled and waved goodbye to Hunk, then slipped out the door, swinging his keys around his finger. He cranked his music as loud as he wanted since he was kid-free and sped out onto the road with the windows down, air rushing around him just the way he liked it. 

His smile grew when he spotted a motorcyclist up ahead, and a cute one at that. He rode a black sports bike, red accents trailing along its sides, and an all black helmet that created an air of mystery that piqued Lance’s interest. He worked his way behind them, enjoying the view knowing people would think he was simply staring at the road, but as he grew closer he noticed the bike looked oddly familiar, and those gloves on the guy’s hands. Lance was so focused on staring at the man, that he failed to notice the light had changed yellow, so he had to slam on the brakes to stop in time, watching the motorcycle recede with a dazed expression. 

He had just been ogling at Keith. Which wasn’t necessarily bad, Keith was a good-looking man, Lance had implied that when he first met him, but that was to Keith’s face. How was he going to face Keith now knowing he had been purposely staring at the man’s ass without him knowing?  _ Ay, Dios mio _ , Lance thought, pinching the bridge of his nose, strumming his fingers on the steering wheel furiously.

He pushed the incident from his mind as best he could, wanting a normal shopping experience without thoughts of the way Keith was hunched over his motorcycle. Of course, he wasn’t totally successful, but he was happy to say he only had twelve thoughts about Keith in the hour he had taken to shop. But the drive home had been more of a struggle, his eyes unconsciously scanning for the motorcyclist without his permission, but he didn’t have another encounter, thankfully.

When he entered the house, he found Hunk giving the kids rides on his back, gently bucking like a donkey, earning squeals and giggles in return, but he continued into the kitchen to set his bags down. The kids ran in to greet him, hurriedly talking about everything they did with Hunk, while Hunk retrieved the remaining bags. The kids insisted on helping put the groceries away, but after five minutes they got bored and ran off. Hunk remained, thankfully, because Lance really needed to get this off his chest.

“Hunk, my man, I just had the worst experience,” Lance started, shoving a bag of chips into the cabinet. “There was a motorcyclist on the way to the store, and he was  _ hot _ , like way hot, and I was right behind him!”

“That’s good, right? Prime position for staring without being caught.” Hunk tilted his head in confusion, knowing Lance’s exact thoughts at the time because he had gotten used to his antics a long time ago.

“Usually, yes, but then I realized the motorcyclist was someone I know!” Lance cried, flopping onto the counter. He checked to make sure the boys were occupied in the other room then leaned forwards for extra precaution- Lance swore those boys had super hearing sometimes. “It was  _ Keith _ !”

“The guy you ranted to me about while the kids were taking their nap yesterday? That Keith?”

“Yes, that Keith! And I was staring at his ass, Hunk! And he didn’t even know!”

“That never seems to have stopped you before,” Hunk scratched his head, obviously perplexed by Lance’s distress. “And you’re attracted to him, so shouldn’t it be a plus that it was him?”

“No, Hunk. How can I face him after purposely staring at his backside without him knowing? I feel like a creep!”

“Lance, it was a mistake. You obviously regret it, so you’re not a creep.” Hunk assured him patiently. Then Hunk smiled mischievously. “Was it a nice view though?”

Lance perked up and matched his smirk. “You have no idea,” he purred. 

They dissolved into chuckles; Hunk always knew how to cheer him up, something that has kept Lance afloat over the years. It had not always been easy, especially when Arlo and Caspian came into his life unexpectedly, but Hunk had supported him the entire time. He had been the one to suggest the childrearing class where he met Allura and Shiro, who have been an immense help in his journey of newfound fatherhood, as well as Coran, who had been the instructor of the class and was now a regular babysitter. The man was quirky, but he knew his stuff despite not having children of his own, and the kids liked to play with his mustache, an added bonus. 

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Lance asked, and Hunk looked at him skeptically.

“Is this you asking if I’ll make dinner for you guys?”

“Uh, I’ll make the salads?” Lance said meekly, putting on his most radiant smile.

Hunk sighed and succumbed to his charm, and Lance cheered, throwing a fist into the air. Hunk chuckled and shook his head at Lance’s antics, beginning to set out the pots and pans that would be needed, as well as the ingredients. Lance checked on the boys, finding them enraptured by their toys and returned to assist Hunk, doing everything his friend told him while also trying to take mental notes so he could replicate this later. It wasn’t that Lance was a bad cook, his mama raised him better than that, but Hunk’s dishes always took things to the next level, and Lance was always looking to wow other people in unexpected ways. 

The kids started to get fussy when they became hungry and wandered into the kitchen to climb all over Lance, whining and tugging, and Lance had to guide them over to the table so they wouldn’t disturb Hunk or accidentally touch the stove and burn themselves. The soup was almost ready anyways, so he enlisted the kids to help him set the table, which distracted them long enough for Hunk to spoon out the soup into bowls. 

“Dinner is served.  _ Bon appetit! _ ” Hunk said, setting the bowls down with a flourish of his hands.

The kids giggled and clapped.

“ _ Bon teet! _ ” Caspian attempted, raising his spoon.

Lance clanged his spoon against his, as did Hunk- Arlo was already digging in- and Caspian started eating. It was an odd habit he had picked up after watching people do a similar ritual with wine glasses on the travel channel when he was sick one day, but he didn’t seem to understand the concept completely; however, Lance wasn’t going to rain on his parade since it did no harm. 

Lance took dishes duty once everyone was finished since Hunk had done a majority of the cooking, and the kids led Hunk away to watch a movie. Lance joined them once he was finished, dish towel still hung over his shoulder where he had placed it while he put the dried ware away and forgotten about it. He smiled when he saw his sons snuggled up to Hunk’s sides, eyes trained unblinkingly on where the hero was fighting the villain. He joined them where there was room, and Arlo settled his head on his shoulder, eyes never leaving the screen, and Lance placed his cheek atop it, a hand finding one of Arlo’s.

By the end of the movie, the boys were asleep and Hunk helped get them ready for bed. They brushed the half-asleep kids’ teeth-- thank god for safe-to-swallow toothpaste-- and dressed them in their pajamas, then tucked them into bed. Lance pecked each of them on the cheek, as did Hunk, then the two adults collapsed on the couch.

“When did I become so old?” Lance groaned, his own eyes already drooping despite it being only nine o’clock. 

“Yeah, usually we were just getting ready to head out to party,” Hunk chuckled. 

“Those were the good ole days,” Lance agreed. “How’s Shay?” 

Hunk perked up at his girlfriend’s name. The two had been together since college, but neither were eager to marry. That’s not to say they weren’t going to marry, they just preferred to enjoy each other’s company for now, more focused on running their business together than starting a family quite yet.

“She’s good, been working on making sugar flowers for this one wedding cake order that’s been keeping her in late all week, but they’re turning out beautiful. I offered to help, but my cumbersome hands weren’t made for shaping delicate petals, so I usually cause more harm than good. But she doesn’t mind the work, claims she finds it therapeutic.” 

Lance hummed his agreement, sinking further into the couch.

“Thanks for your help, dude. And not just for today, I don’t think I would have made it this far without you by my side.”

“I’m happy to help, and will continue to for as long as you need me.”

“Bro.”

“Bro.” 

The two chuckled, then Hunk got to his feet, announcing his departure. Lance raised to give him a farewell hug, seeing him out the door, then trudged back to his own room, changing into his own pajamas and brushing his teeth before applying a facial mask. He settled on his bed, switching on his television to wait out the recommended time for the mask. Once Lance removed his facial mask, smiling at the smoothness and glow of his skin, he went to bed, switching the tv off. He fell asleep quickly, dreams filled with the laughter of his children, Hunk’s chocolate chunk cookies, and even a certain dark haired man riding his motorcycle with Lance clinging onto the back-- but he would ‘forget’ about that in the morning.

 

***

 

Lance vacuumed all morning, having chased the kids to the backyard so he could scrub the house from back to front without any interruptions as he prepared for today’s get-together. When he finished, he had just enough time to get himself ready before people would begin to show up. He’s known his friends long enough to know their habits. Hunk and Shay would show up ten minutes early, their time management skills so good that they put them ahead of schedule, an unconscious side effect to running a business revolving around cakes. Allura and Shiro would arrive on time, especially since Stella wasn’t hard to get under wraps, unlike Arlo and Caspian, and Lance assumed Keith would arrive with them, if he decided to come. 

Lance bit his lip, he hoped he would come, he picked this outfit out with him in mind. It was subtle, but the clothing hugged him in all the right places while still being respectable-- no more crop tops like he used to wear in college-- and the blue of his shirt brought out his eyes, his prized feature in picking up guys and girls.  

Pidge and Matt were horrible with time management, and probably forgot the gathering was today, so they won’t arrive until late. And Coran wouldn’t show up until a half hour passed; his mind was always buzzing, and he was often rushing around because of it, but he was anything but forgetful. He could recite a story from when he was two years old with perfect clarity, that paired with his spunky nature made him a great story teller. 

Lance heard the doorbell ring as soon as he set his hairbrush down, and he checked his watch, smiling when it read ten till. Hunk and Shay were right on time. He opened the door with a flourish, bowing low and greeting them with a ‘my lord and lady,’ which they waved off with a chuckle. The kids ran in to hug their legs, and Lance took the cake from Shay before it ended up face down on the floor, smiling when the woman lifted up the giggling boys with one hanging on each arm. Lifting cakes everyday didn’t come without the benefits. 

Lance distributed the snacks into bowls, and Hunk helped him carry them out onto the back table. His backyard didn’t have a patio as Lance would like, since he was an entertaining type of person, but he wasn’t going to complain. He had gotten a deal on this house, and without it he wouldn’t haven been able to take in Caspian and Arlo, so it seemed like more than a fair trade. And it served its purpose by giving Arlo and Caspian a safe place to play and run around. It was also big enough for a kickball match, and when it rained, the perfect mudpit formed in the right corner of the yard. There were a lot of memories made back here already, so yeah, the patio could wait. The kids and Shay joined them, Allura and Shiro trailing behind and Lance greeted them with a wide smile. 

“Where’s my little star?” Lance questioned after he had given them both a hug.

“She’s talking Keith’s ear off out front, has been all morning. She’s been very chatty lately,” Allura chuckled. 

“Keith came?” Lance said, blinking in surprise. 

“Yeah, he was unsure if you had actually meant it when you invited him, but Shiro threatened him into coming. He needs more friends.” She shook her head with a smile. 

“Well, then he came to the right place!” Lance smiled, though he felt a twinge of disappointment that Shiro had to threaten Keith into coming.

“Maybe you can teach him to loosen up,” Allura bumped her hip against his, then went over to greet Hunk. 

A loud squeal sounded and Lance glanced up to see Stella running full speed at him, arms thrown wide and smile even wider. Lance bent his knees in preparation and opened his own arms, catching her neatly and spinning her around. 

“How’s my shooting star?” Lance cooed into her hair. 

“Great! I got a new shirt! Do you like it?” She stepped back and pulled at her shirt, displaying its curving wave design, embellished with sequins that caught the light. 

“It’s beautiful,  _ niña _ , it’s like I’m at the beach!” She bounced happily at his praise, curling her shirt around her hands before letting it go. 

Arlo ran up to her, Caspian not far behind, and the trio ran off somewhere together. Lance watched them go with a smile, then caught sight of movement in his peripheral. He turned and spotted Keith.

“Hey! Trying to sneak passed without saying hello!” Lance yelled at him, walking over and punching his shoulder playfully. “Glad you could make it,” he said quieter.

He didn’t want to scare Keith off, and the guy already looked uncomfortable, eyeing everyone in turn like he was trying to decide who to take on first.

“Uh, I wasn’t-”

“I know,” Lance waved him off with a smile.

Lance felt a pressure at the back of his leg and he looked down to see Caspian there, staring up at Keith.

“I know you,” Caspian said, surprising Lance when he stepped out from behind him and approached Keith, staring at him critically. It was kinda cute how Keith seemed to squirm even under his attention. “Keith!”

Keith glanced at Lance then crouched down. “Yeah, that’s me. What’s your name again?” He spoke softly, as if he was worried about scaring Caspian away.

“Caspian,” Caspian said carefully, pronouncing each syllable correctly like Lance had practiced with him. 

“Nice to meet you Caspian,” Keith nodded, and Caspian smiled,  _ actually smiled _ , at the man. It made Lance’s heart clench. 

“Mister Keith, are you a lion?” Keith blinked at the question, and Lance chuckled, but Caspian didn’t seem to notice and continued talking. “Your hair reminds me of a lion. It’s long.” Caspian glanced up at Lance, who nodded his encouragement. “My papá is a lion, and he calls us his cubs. Right, papá?”

“Yep,” Lance ruffled his hair.

“What do lions eat, papá?” Caspian stared up at his father with wide eyes, and Lance was completely consumed by them. 

“Meat. They have to hunt for their food,” Lance crouched down, falling onto his hands and knees. “And when they find food, they pounce on it!” He grabbed Caspian and started tickling the boy, who screeched and giggled, squirming as he tried to get free.

Lance finally stopped when the boy fell to the ground, breathless but still laughing. His blue eyes were shining, and Lance smiled down at him.

“So, they don’t eat choc-y cookies?” Caspian asked breathlessly.

And that was too cute. Lance burst out laughing, but shook his head. Then he was barreled into from the side, and forced onto his back, air leaving his lungs with a surprised  _ oof _ .  He looked up to see Arlo on his stomach, and the boy roared, a smile on his face. 

“I got you, papá!” 

“Yeah, you did,” Lance smiled. Then his eyes narrowed at a smear of chocolate in the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away and licked it just to sure. “Have you been eating Hunk’s chocolate chunk cookies?”

Arlo wouldn’t meet his eyes, and instead hopped off his stomach and rand away. “Uncle Hunk gave it to me!” He called over his shoulder. 

Caspian, who had listened to the entire conversation intently, sprang up and rushed towards Hunk. “Uncle Hunk, Uncle Hunk, I want one too!”

Lance met Hunk’s eyes from across the yard, and he smiled sheepishly then shrugged, while handing Caspian a cookie. Lance sighed dramatically, letting his head fall back, but couldn’t help the smile stretching his face.

“Unbelievable.”

There was a rustle and then Keith was leaning over him, offering a hand, which Lance gladly took.

“Kids, am I right?” He chuckled, dusting himself off. “Seems like Caspian has warmed up to you, so congratulations. If you hadn’t noticed, his current infatuation is lions.”

Keith gave a small smile and nodded his head, hands folding into his pockets. He obviously wasn’t a social guy, but Lance could work with that. He guided them over to the cooler holding the drinks, trying not to be amused by Keith following him like a lost puppy, and handed him a water at his request.

“I’ve known Allura and Shiro for almost a year now, so where have you been during that time?”

Keith sipped his water, but his eyes were trained on Lance, who tried not to squirm under the intensity.

“I was overseas. I joined the military out of highschool, and just retired from active duty this year.” Keith shrugged, he obviously didn’t find this a worthy topic of conversation.

“Well, thank you for your service. Do you know what you’re going to do now?”

“No, idea.”

“Everyone deserves a break, no need to rush things,” Lance smiled. Then noticed a lull and switched topics away from Keith, who obviously didn’t want to talk about himself. “I always wanted to be a Marine Biologist, mainly working on conservation, but plans change.” Lance smiled softly, eyes unconsciously finding Caspian and Arlo. “I’m currently a lifeguard at the beach for the summer season, and then I teach the rest of the year. Nothing fancy, but it keeps us happy.”

“No offense, but, uh, you don’t...” Keith trailed off, face twisting as he realized what he had been about to say, and his eyes settled on the boys. Lance knew what he was implying-- he wasn’t the first-- and didn’t take any offense. He actually found it cute that Keith didn’t want to offend him with an honest question.

“I don’t seem like the single dad type? That’s what everyone says, don’t worry, and even I think that. They came to me about a year ago, rather unexpectedly.” He paused, unsure if he should bother Keith with the story, but a quick glance at the man saw that he had his full attention. “They’re biological brothers, twins, according to the tests, and I’m assuming their mother just couldn’t afford to care for them anymore. They were left at the beach last summer, tired, hungry, and sunburned by the end of the day.” Lance frowned, remembering the stumbling, crying, sand-covered toddlers that had stumbled up to him. “So, long story short, I made some changes to my lifestyle, mainly buying this house, so I could take them in, ‘cause I wasn’t saying no to those faces.”

“They’re lucky to have you,” Keith said quietly.

Lance smiled softly, but before he could say anything else, they were interrupted by Hunk getting a drink. Lance quickly introduced him, and Hunk smiled pleasantly at Keith, but gave Lance a knowing smile when the other man wasn’t paying attention. That led to Hunk dragging Keith over to Shay, and Lance left them to it, sitting down beside Allura. Shiro was manning the grill with Lance’s apron on-- looking too small on the buff man-- and chatted idly with the two, motioning with the spatula as he talked.

“Hey, Shiro, what if you replaced your prosthetic with a spatula?” Lance grinned, laughing at the mental image. 

Keith and Hunk and Shay sat down at the table as Lance asked the question, so naturally Hunk picked up on where Lance was going with this.

“Then he’d be the- the slash bringing...the sash wringing...the mash flinging…,” Hunk stuttered, imitating the show they were referencing. The best friends both leaned forwards in their seats, everyone else copying them unconsciously as they awaited their next words.

“The hash slinging slasher!” Both Lance and Hunk yelled simultaneously, bursting out laughing. Everyone else just looked confused. Figures. Hunk and Lance didn’t bother to explain, only offering ‘it’s an inside joke.’ 

Then Coran arrived, rather loudly announcing his appearance, and Caspian and Arlo screamed in delight and ran up to him, jumping into his outstretched arms. Arlo tugged on the eccentric man’s mustache, causing him to squawk and the kids erupted into laughter. He set them down and made his way over to the table, everyone greeting him. 

Conversation soon picked up once more. Dinner was served, the adults eating first since the kids looked content in playing, and once they were finished, they called the kids over. They happily munched on their cut-up hotdogs. The kids controlled the conversation then and Lance smiled at where Caspian was talking Keith’s ear off once more, probably about lions again if Lance had to guess. Arlo sat in Lance’s lap, since they had limited chairs, and he was talking to Shay, who sat beside Lance. They were discussing birthday cakes. 

Matt finally arrived with Pidge in tow and Hunk quickly handed them each a plate of food, the kids greeting them by running around their feet and bouncing up and down, showing off their new toys, clothes, and whatever else they felt the need to share. Pidge promised she’d play robots with them later, maybe even show them how to reprogram them to do cool dance moves. 

It wasn’t long before the kids went back to playing, running around the yard chasing each other, and squealing when one of the adults made a grab for them. It was all fun and games until crying erupted. Lance’s head whipped up from where he was talking with Hunk and Pidge, eyes zeroing in on Arlo, who held his arm close to his chest, his other hand scrubbing furiously at his eyes as he wept. Lance jumped up and rushed over, kneeling before the boy, gently grabbing his wrist to pull it away from his eyes. He hushed the boy, hands trailing over his face and through his hair until Arlo was only hiccupping. 

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Lance asked, smiling softly at Caspian and Stella over Arlo’s shoulder, both looking worried.

Arlo whimpered and lifted his arm held against his chest towards his father. A rush of panic swelled in Lance. Has he broken his arm? How could he tell? Lance gently brushed his fingers over the skin, and Arlo flinched slightly. Lance’s heart leapt in his throat. He knows how to handle minor injuries, but he doesn’t have experience with broken bones! He’s only been a dad for a year now! 

But then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Allura crouching down before him. Lance dropped his hand, which he hadn’t realized had reached up to clutch his hair, and scooted a bit to give Allura more room. She was a nurse at the local Children’s Hospital afterall. She checked him over, glad to say it was only sore and that nothing was broken, and Lance almost fell to the ground in relief. 

Arlo stayed close to Lance for the rest of the party, frequently wanting to be picked up so he could burrow into his neck. Lance just smiled and patted his back, humming to him under his breath when he wasn’t in conversation. 

Stella had climbed into her father’s lap not long after Arlo’s accident and was currently asleep in his arms, Shiro absentmindedly petting her hair. And Caspian was sitting in the sandbox, peacefully digging around, making a story up with his toys. Caspian was never afraid of playing alone, and Lance had a suspicion he enjoyed it every once in a while. But he did a double take when he saw Keith sitting on the edge of the sandbox, watching Caspian and replying when the boy would ask him a question or hold up one of his toys for him to inspect. Lance took a seat next to Shiro, a clear view of the two there. Shiro was watching them as well, a fond smile on his face.

“Keith always been good with kids?” Lance asked, nodding his head towards the man in question, and startling Shiro slightly at the question.

“Keith? Never. Until he met Stella and claimed he would set the world on fire for her,” Shiro chuckled. 

“He said that?” Lance’s eyebrows rose to what felt like his hairline, and Shiro chuckled.

“Not exactly, but it was implied.” They both chuckled.

“Well, Caspian seems to have taken a liking to him. It’s cute,” Lance smiled.

“Cute, eh?” Shiro smirked, and Lance felt his ears burn.

“Yeah, whenever someone interacts with children, especially my children, it’s cute,” Lance coughed, trying to recover, but Shiro’s smirk didn’t disappear.

“Uh huh,” was all he said, turning away from Lance, deciding not to press any further.

Shiro was never one to push things, knowing they would eventually work themselves out, unlike his wife. Allura was unrelenting and not afraid to get her hands dirty, something Lance admired but also kind of feared. He was thankful he was talking to Shiro and not Allura.

Eventually, night fell and the bugs forced everyone inside, but by then most of the food was eaten and the conversations had, so everyone said their goodbyes. Lance thanked everyone for coming with a sleeping Arlo on his hip, his brilliant smile lighting up the night. He shut the door with a happy sigh. Now he all he had to do was get his boys in bed before he himself could succumb to the sleep already pulling on his limbs.

He found Caspian in the living room, playing with his toys and Lance crooned to him, starting to sing the ‘bedtime’ song Lance had created during a particularly difficult time in getting his boys to cooperate when getting ready for bed. Caspian immediately perked up, a wide smile spreading across his face, its corners fuzzy with sleep but no less bright, and he toddled over to Lance, who held out a hand to him. 

“Did you have fun today,  _ mijo _ ?” Lance asked as he led him to the bathroom, Arlo still sleeping soundly against his shoulder. 

“Yeah! I talked to lots of people. And they listened to me,” he spoke enthusiastically. Lance hummed, smiling softly. “I like Keith.” That statement caught Lance’s attention nad something warmed inside him.

“Oh yeah, what changed your mind? You used to be scared of him.”

“He looks like a lion. And he helped me roar!” Caspian roared for Lance to show what he meant, and while it still sounded the same, if not a little more confident, Lance congratulated him anyway. But at the sudden sound, Arlo stirred, yawning widely and rubbing at his eyes with his fists.

He got the boys to brush their teeth without any fuss, both of their eyelids drooping heavily. Then he wiped down their faces with a hot cloth to clean the dirt from their faces before guiding them into their room and stripping them of their grass-stained clothes in exchange for pajamas. The two could barely keep their heads upright by then and Lance didn’t even have to sing a song for them to fall asleep. Lance kissed their foreheads, flipping on their lion nightlight then slipped out of the room.

Lance went through his own nighttime routine, albeit a little more quickly than usual due to his exhaustion, and sighed as he sank into his bed, eyelids finally fluttering shut and a smile on his lips. Today had been a great day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Like I said, this was just me trying to get over writer's block, but I might take this farther and post more. Not sure if I'll make it a story story or just some one-shots (if you have a preference let me know, cause I really am on the fence!). It's a chill fic for me, so I'm just kinda writing what comes to mind in the moment.  
> Uh, that hash slinging slasher ref was PURELY self-indulgent, and also how I picture myself being when I'm almost thirty with a friend of mine. So don't mind me just slipping in some references here and there ;)  
> Also, I am in no way familiar with Spanish, so if there are some Spanish phrases you know and think Lance would/should use in this fic, let me know! I'd be more than happy to include them and have accurate references for the Spanish language.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to all those who commented! Appreciate you all! And here's the second installment! Enjoy!

Today was not a great day, Lance lamented, nursing his cheap cup of coffee he had  _ had  _ to get on their walk to the park. Caspian and Arlo were running around his legs, abiding by the rule to stick close while also burning their seemingly limitless energy. They had woken him up at six, not unusual, but for some reason sleep had clung to Lance today, making his bones heavy and head ache. He felt dead on his feet, and he hoped it wasn’t a sign he was coming down with something. 

When they finally arrived at the park, Caspian and Arlo rushed towards the swings, demanding he push them as high as they could go and Lance acquiesced; a little headache could never keep him from letting his kids have fun. It wasn’t long before they lost interest and ran for the tunnels that lead to the slides, laughing the whole way. Lance took this opportunity to sink onto a bench, massaging his temples and then settling back to soak up the sunlight, which was bearable since it was still early in the morning. He had a shift at the beach later today, and he hoped it wouldn’t be too hot, even though the weather channel was against him.

When he reopened his eyes, he quickly located his children, who were happily bouncing on the bouncy bridge. Another kid joined them and Arlo and Caspian quickly accepted him into whatever game they had created. The amount of kids around them steadily grew over the next hour, and Lance noticed they had split into two groups and were having a ‘battle’ of some sort, though what the objective of the game was Lance couldn’t discern. It was entertaining to say the least. 

Lance finished off his cheap (now cold) coffee, grimacing at the aftertaste, and got up to dispose of it. He tossed it in, holding back a yelp of disgust at the swarm of flies that flew up at the commotion, and he swatted at those that flew too close. He was about to retreat when a flash of red caught his eye. The next thing he noticed was dark hair, and Lance chuckled, chiding himself for getting so excited at the thought of it possibly being Keith. It was too good to be true. But then he did a double take when the figure, which was running past at the edge of the park,  _ was  _ actually the mysterious man that had invaded his life the past couple of weeks-- not that Lance was complaining. He gaped, taking in what he could as Keith raced past, eyes choosing to focus on the small ponytail bobbing behind him and the lips that were mouthing along to whatever song Keith was listening to. Everything seemed to slow when Keith’s head began to turn, a hand coming up to brush away the stray hairs escaping his ponytail, and then his eyes caught Lance’s. His lips quirked, and he raised a hand in greeting, though he never slowed his pace. Lance snapped his jaw shut, cheeks flushing as he glanced around to see if anyone had caught him staring, sighing in relief when the parents seemed too absorbed in their kids’ needs or phones to notice him. He spun on his heels, bumping straight into the garbage can and he nearly shrieked when the flies swarmed once again, this time towards him. He quickly retreated back to the bench he was previously sitting, urging his mind to focus on his children instead of the slow-motion replay of Keith running and flipping his hair like he was in some teenage romance novel. Lance sighed, sinking back onto the bench in defeat; well, at least his headache was gone.  

Lance had just gotten the kids home-- the ten minute walk turning into one of almost an hour as the kids let their curiosity lead, stopping to inspect every single thing they found interesting-- when Coran was knocking on the door. Lance left the kids at the table, happily munching on their PB&J’s (without crust and cut in triangles), to let Coran in. 

“Hello, my boy! Are you feeling well?” Coran turned serious when he caught sight of Lance’s disheveled and sweaty appearance, looking him up and down.  

“I’m fine, Coran, thank you. Just a little tired today is all,” Lance replied, stepping aside to let the man enter.

“Well, it’s supposed to be a hot one out there, so stay hydrated!” Coran was back to his usual peppy self, and spun around when he heard the telltale squeals of approaching children. 

Each child ran to a leg, giggling and hugging it tight as Coran began lifting them up, trying to walk in an exaggerated manner. 

“You will never defeat the all-powerful, all-knowing wizard, Daegon, who rules the Carthian realm! You are too tiny, young paladins!” Coran said in a deep, dramatic voice. The kids were loving it despite probably not knowing half of what Coran was talking about, not that Lance did either.

“I am a lion!” Caspian bared his teeth at Coran, then attempted to climb up his leg. Meanwhile Arlo was biting Coran’s pants, though the man didn’t seem to notice.

“A lion, you say? Oh no! Lions are the only things that can defeat me!” Coran stumbled around then slowly lowered himself to the floor, playing dead as the kids jumped around him, yelling in victory. Arlo stepped onto Coran’s chest, studying Coran for a moment and then jumped, an ‘oof’ escaping from Coran as the air left his lungs.

Lance chuckled and shook his head, forcing his legs to carry him away and get changed for his work, which was luckily at a beach. Lance wasn’t sure how he would feel being cooped up, at least at the school the kids kept things interesting, but he was sure he would go stir crazy in an office job, maybe even go insane like some of those people you hear about on those crime channels. Lance didn’t want to appear on a crime channel. But he was getting off topic. 

Once changed in his issued t-shirt (which he will be shedding as soon as he got in the stand) and swim trunks, he kissed his boys goodbye and even Coran at the boys insistence (only on the cheek of course), then headed out, taking a deep breath in the humid air. He could feel the moisture in his mouth and lungs evaporate at the breath and his hair curl at the nape of his neck. Looks like the weather channel won this round.

The beach wasn’t crowded since it was so late in the day, most people, the  _ smart  _ people, having gotten their fill earlier. Lance greeted his boss and the colleagues that were crowding around the industrial fan in their lifeguard hut, then stopped by to grab a smoothie from his favorite shop before meeting his partner for the day, which happened to be Blaytz (a nickname created by smashing his first name and last together), who was one of his favorites because his personality was so similar to Lance’s. They kept each other on their toes and traded jokes to chase away the boredom. Sometimes, it felt like they were just two friends in high school hanging out at the beach despite both being in their thirties-- well Lance was 28, but close enough for rounding’s sake. 

Blaytz greeted him with a slap on the back, the floppy hat he wore making Lance laugh, to which Blaytz took mock offense to. Then he passed the sunscreen and Lance began slathering it on, Blaytz helping with his back without being asked. They were often paired together much to Lance’s delight and had developed a routine that each didn’t think twice about, their bodies just going through the motions without being prompted. 

“How’re the little tykes?” Blaytz asked once Lance’s back was covered, his Australian accent most noticeable on ‘tykes.’ “Still running around like human tumbleweeds?”

Lance laughed; that was a new one. “Oh, you know it. We went to the park today and they got the whole park to play with them.” 

Blaytz whistled. “You’ve got two special ones on your hands, that’s for sure. They’re going to be something when they get older.”

“I sure hope so.” Lance turned and stared out into the ocean, that beautiful blue expanse that always seemed to reflect his thoughts back at him. Sometimes that was what calmed him, but sometimes it led to him thinking too much. Lance sighed and leaned back against the stand, thoughts moving to Caspian and Arlo’s futures. He hopes he’ll be able to provide them with everything they’ll need to be successful, hopes he already is.

“Hey, don’t be like that. You’re a great dad.” Blaytz nudged his arm with an elbow, seeming to detect Lance’s insecurity, and Lance smiled gratefully at him.

He gazed back out to the ocean, pushing his thoughts of the future away because one can only think about so much, and he had enough to think about at the present. Instead, he studied the ocean; it was moving sluggishly today, the waves small and cresting quickly. Nothing dangerous, thus the green flag was displayed, sagging without the wind to support it. Lance stared at the limp flag, hoping if he willed it for long enough, he would summon a cool breeze. Unfortunately, none answered his call. 

He scanned the length of the beach, pausing to watch a pair of kids build a sandcastle, decorating it with sunbaked seaweed and those brown pods no one could ever identify-- Lance was happy to report they were skate egg cases. Lance grinned when he saw the boy throw a handful of them on his sister, who screeched and threw them right back. Lance used to do something similar with his siblings; sometimes he’d see how many he could hide in his sister Veronica’s hair before she noticed. He turned and told Blaytz that story.

After an hour in the sun, Lance was feeling drained, and he knew Blaytz was feeling the same based on how severely slouched he was. So, Lance suggested they take a dip, to which Blaytz readily agreed. They quickly stripped off their hats and sunglasses, and threw aside their towels, which had been their shields against the brutal sun-- skin cancer was no laughing matter-- before racing into the surf. 

Lance sighed as he dove under the water, feeling the familiar pull of the tide against his skin and smiling into the lazy current. He breached like a whale, spreading wide as he crashed back down to the surface hoping Blaytz was somewhere nearby and would get splashed. 

“Why do you always have to do that?” An annoyed Blaytz said from somewhere to his left. 

Lance smiled widely. “You should be used to it by now, so don’t blame me.” 

Blaytz grunted in agreement, settling on his back to float beside Lance. He sighed loudly, and Lance knew he too was reveling in the relief from the heat the ocean brought them. Lance could float in the ocean all day, calmly bobbing atop the waves, letting the ocean decide his fate. 

After they got out, things went much faster. The beach was nearly empty when their shift ended and they began preparing the stand for the night, which included securing the rowboat and then tipping the stand onto its back. All efforts at discouraging lovestruck teens from using them for purposes other than lifeguarding, not that Lance was judging them since he had been one of them once upon a time. 

He said his goodbyes to everyone, then headed for his car, dumping a (warm) water bottle over his head to wash the salt from his face and hair along the way. He was dry by the time he got to his car. He cranked the air conditioning as soon as the car started and sighed in relief, his eyes fluttering closed. His phone beeped, distracting him from his sweet relief, and he retrieved his phone from the passenger seat, glancing at who had texted him. His first thought was Coran, asking a question about one the boys’ routine or something, but it was actually from Shiro confirming if Lance was still up to watching Stella tomorrow. Lance quickly replied with an affirmative, then started the car with a smile. He already had the whole day planned, starting with a trip to Hunk and Shay’s bakery.

He arrived home as the sun was setting to find Coran pushing the kids on the swing set in the back, the kids scrambling off he swings-- Arlo almost face-planting in his rush-- and was quickly engulfed in a double-hug. Lance laughed and ruffled their hair, and they asked about his work, to which he told them one of Blaytz’s (kid friendly) jokes. He wasn’t sure if they understood it or not, but they laughed and ran off, chasing one another and shouting things like ‘they’re coming’ and ‘watch out.’ Lance stood and brushed himself off, thanking Coran as the man approached, a fond smile on his face.

“Oh, they’re always as easy as collecting scultrite from a Weblum,” he chuckled, curling his mustache. “Actually, now that I think about it, that’s not very easy, so they’re easier!”

“Sure, Coran,” Lance said, walking the man to the door. He wasn’t exactly sure what Coran was talking about, probably something from one of his stories. “But, seriously, thank you. You’re always here for me and the boys, and it means a lot to have your support.”

“It’s my pleasure. These boys, and Stella too, keep me young! I enjoy my time with them, and you and your friends. We’re linked to each other like a pack of Yelmors!” 

Coran left him to decipher whatever that meant and strutted down the street. Lance watched him go, perplexed; he has never seen that man drive a car, so he always wondered how he got around with such efficiency as he does. Maybe he just runs everywhere, that’d make him secretly ripped. Did Coran have a six pack? Lance tried to remember the last time he had seen Coran at the beach, but everything from the neck down was fuzzy. Lance shook his head, disbelieving his thoughts right now. So, he shrugged and shut the door. About halfway to the backyard he paused and snapped his fingers. Maybe there’s just never enough parking nearby and that’s why Lance has never seen his car. Yeah, that seemed a more reasonable explanation.  

Satisfied, Lance continued to the backyard to collect the boys. They had a busy day tomorrow and unless he wanted cranky toddlers on his hands, he had to get them fed, in the bath, and then to bed at a reasonable time. 

 

***

 

The bell atop the door cheerily jingled as they entered the bakery, the kids immediately rushing up to the glass case filled with donuts as large as their heads. Lance sauntered up behind them, eyes roaming over the walls. Hunk and Shay had recently remodeled thanks to booming business and he hadn’t been in to see the upgrades yet. Hunk had assured him most of the money had gone to equipment in the kitchen, but Lance noticed the walls were covered with fresh wallpaper and the beadboard had a fresh coating of paint. The bright colors and the heavenly smell filling the air made the perfect atmosphere for a bakery.

Shay exited from the back and smiled wide when she caught sight of Lance. Then she approached the glass and leaned over to wave down to the three jumping children, who all greeted her in turn by immediately pointing to the donut of their choice. She obliged, making funny faces at them through the glass.

“So, Shay, what’s the most outrageous request you’ve gotten this week?” Lance leaned against the counter conversationally, passing over his card to pay for the sweet treats. 

Shay thought for a moment before leaning in close, a mischievous grin on her face. “I was asked to make a replica of someone’s ex, but make it so it could be set on fire. Seems they were having a divorce party,” she giggled. 

Lance squawked a laugh, not at all expecting that. He was thinking more along the lines of an eighteen tier cake or something like that, but Shay was full of surprises, always good. There was nothing bad about Shay, which made her a perfect match for Hunk. Together they were as sweet as the treats they bake. 

“No way. What did you say?”

“I told them that was ambitious, too ambitious for me.” Shay handed back his card. “But, I could have easily done that, I just did not want to because no one should be set on fire, even if it is metaphorical. And it would also add more stress than I wanted to this busy week.” 

“Here, here,” Lance clucked his tongue. “Thanks for the treats. What time did Hunk come in today to start them?”

“Four am,” Shay replied like that was nothing while Lance’s eyes bugged out of his head.

“I heard my name-- oh, hey Lance!” Hunk came out from the kitchen, apron covered in flour and egg and chocolate.

“Hey, buddy, your baked goods are a hit.” Lance stepped aside to reveal where the kids were sitting, faces covered in icing and sprinkles. When they caught sight of Hunk, the could only wave because their mouths were stuffed. Hunk smiled and waved back. Nothing made him happier than seeing people enjoy the food he makes. 

“What’s your secret ingredient?”

“They’re made with my love,” Hunk chuckled, though Lance didn’t doubt it. 

Hunk approached Shay, but she retreated, warning him not to get flour on her because she had a consultation later that day, so he put his hands behind his back and pecked her cheek. She smiled, but that smile disappeared when Hunk drug his flour-covered fingers down her cheek, the white stark against her dark skin. Hunk quickly retreated to the kitchen, yelling his goodbye to Lance over his shoulder.

“I will get him back when he least expects it,” Shay grumbled, glaring at the room Hunk had disappeared into with crossed arms.

“Say, you should set up a prank for when he gets here at four in the morning,” Lance smirked, leaning lazily against the counter.

“Oh, you are right. Do you have something in mind? I am no good at pranks.” 

“No worries, I’ve got you.”

Lance left the bakery in high spirits, thoughts of Hunk’s face when he walks right Shay’s trap filling his head. The kids wanted to visit the park next, so after making sure their hands and faces were icing-free he piled them into the car. He stuck their CD in and they all sang on the way, until the sound of a motorcycle interrupted them. The motorcycle in question pulled up beside them at the next light and the kids ogled at it, those who could pressed their faces against the window. He heard Keith’s name mentioned and chuckled, but then he did a double take when he recognized the bike. He immediately rolled down his window and started obnoxiously waving until he caught their attention.

Keith flipped up his visor, eyes squinting at Lance until they widened in recognition, and answering with a ‘hey, Lance.’ His attention was momentarily drawn to the backseat where the kids were yelling his name and going crazy. Lance just continued to suavely lean against the door, but finally relented and rolled down the kids’ window so Keith could hear them more clearly.

“We’re going to the park if you wanna meet us there,” Lance said as the light turned green. “Unless you’re already doing something, which is fine!” He quickly added. 

Keith chuckled, “sure,” then flipped his visor down and sped off, the kids ooing and aweing. 

Behind him, a horn beeped and Lance threw out a hand. “Come on, can’t a guy watch another guy drive off in peace!” They responded with another beep and Lance sighed, then continued to the park. 

Keith was waiting for them, leaning up against his bike and running a hand through his hair while he waited for them. Lance honked in greeting and parked right beside him. The kids immediately jumped out and ran up to Keith, asking him a hundred questions a second, Keith trying to respond to all of them, bless his heart. Lance sauntered over, the day bag that held all their water and snacks and other necessities slung over his shoulder. 

“Can I sit on it?” Arlo shouted loudly, already trying to climb onto it.

“Arlo, stop. You don’t just climb onto someone else’s vehicle.” 

“But I asked,” Arlo said innocently, though he stepped back from the bike.

“But you didn’t give Keith a chance to respond,” Lance corrected gently. “Now, ask again, properly.”

Arlo nodded, face hardening in determination. “Mister Keith, may I sit on your motorcycle,  _ please _ ?” 

Keith stared at him for a beat, mouth working to reply, then he settled on nodding. “Let me help you help.” Arlo held up his arms and Keith carefully picked him up like he was made of glass and Lance held back a chuckle.

Once atop the vehicle, Arlo fell silent in awe, hands running over the leather seat and smooth metal. Keith kept a hand on his back the entire time, leaning down a little to point to the different buttons. Caspian demanded a turn next and asked all kinds of questions about the bike, listening to the answers attentively. Stella passed, saying she’s already sat on it many times now and just wanted to go play in the park. Lance chuckled and gave his permission, the three kids racing into the jungle gym. Lance watched them go, then turned to Keith, who was doing the same.

“My turn.” Keith snapped from his daze and looked at Lance with wide eyes.

“Oh, um.” Lance’s laughter cut him off, and he wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes.

“The look on your face, Mullet. I wish I had taken a picture.” Lance’s chuckles died down and he dug his foot into the gravel.

“Do you- do you want to?” Keith cleared his throat. “Cause you can if you want, I won’t judge.” 

Lance glanced up at Keith to see him also looking down at his feet. “Okay.” He stepped forward hesitantly. “Uh, this leg first, right?”

Keith huffed, lips stretching into a lopsided grin, and he tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. “Yeah, and hold onto the handles in case the bike tips under your weight.” Lance turned wide eyes on him. “Not that it usually does, just sometimes-- okay, I’ll hold onto it too while you climb on.” He stepped forward and guided Lance’s hands to the handles before placing his own hands right beside them. “Go ahead.”

Lance nodded; his tongue suddenly felt heavy in his mouth, the proximity of hands doing nothing to calm his thoughts, but he was too far in to back down now. He couldn’t have Keith thinking he was afraid of sitting on a motorcycle. That would totally ruin his cool dad vibe! With newfound confidence he swung his leg over, settling on the already heated leather seat with a triumphant grin.

“Aw yeah, that was just like getting onto a horse, well, sort of, not exactly, you know what I mean!”

Keith snorted and Lance glanced up to find him closer than he expected. He tried not to stare, he really did, but he could see much more of Keith’s face this close up. So, he covered up his too long silence with what came naturally to him-- humor. 

“How do I look? Like those edgy models in a photoshoot with a leather jacket slung over their shoulder-- oh wait, that’s you.” Keith snorted again and Lance memorized the curve of his smile. 

“Totally. Only instead of a leather jacket, you’ve got a bag covered in elephants.”

“Hey, don’t diss this cool dad!” Lance retorted, sitting back and crossing his arms. “This bag is more efficient than a leather jacket, holding snacks and drinks with ease. And I won’t die of heatstroke. That raises another question-- why are those photoshoots always in a desert setting? That’s like one of the worst places to wear a leather jacket. Maybe that’s why it’s slung over their shoulder. I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Lance shut his mouth with a click.

Keith only looked amused at his tangent, not annoyed as anyone else would have been. He chuckled and shook his head, hands still firmly gripping the handlebars. 

“You’re asking the wrong person, I don’t know anything about models or photoshoots.”

Lance leaned forward a bit, a lazy smile stretching across his face. “Really? Could have fooled me.” His eyes widened simultaneously with Keith’s and he scrambled to get off the bike and put some distance between him and Keith, his foot catching in the process which would have sent him to the ground if not for strong arms that caught him instead of pavement. He looked up, meeting Keith’s eyes, and was momentarily sucked in by those galaxies.

“Uh, thanks,” Lance cleared his throat. “Thought I heard one of the children I’m supposed to be watching call my name.” Lance chuckled awkwardly, taking a step back once Keith righted him. He took a step towards the park, then paused to glance over his shoulder. “You, uh, you gonna join me? Or do have something to do? I don’t want to keep you from-”

“Lance, it’s fine. I can stick around for a bit,” Keith stopped him, holding up a hand.

“Cool, cool cool. Uh, race ya!” Then Lance took off, and Keith chased after him. Just two grown men running towards the park, one carrying what appeared to be a diaper bag and the other wearing fingerless gloves, nothing to see here, nothing at all. 

Lance arrived to a bench first, claiming it by dropping his bag onto it, and then turned a smug grin on Keith.

“I win.”

“There are so many things I could say to refute that, but I just won’t.” Keith plopped down onto the bench

Lance followed and shaded his eyes as he searched for his three munchkins, finding Arlo and Stella peering into a slide, Caspian appearing inside it a moment later. Lance smiled and settled back, rummaging through the bag and offering a bottle of water to Keith, who politely declined. Lance took a swig himself then replaced it into the bag. 

“Saw you running by here yesterday,” Lance said as casually as he could. “Should I expect to see you around here more often?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess. I’ve been running to get to know the town a little better, and my favorite route comes past here.” Keith shrugged, eyes tracking as the kids raced across the park to the swings. His lips quirked when the boys started arguing over who got to push Stella.

“Well, you’re better than me. You’d never catch me running, especially not in this heat.”

“Everyone has their thing.”

“Mine’s surfing,” Lance smiled, immediately picturing the perfect wave. He could practically hear the roaring of the water around him as he entered a tube. 

An easy silence settled over the two as they watched as Stella settled the argument between the boys, who alternated in pushing a very pleased Stella. 

“Did you grow up here?” Keith broke the silence, glancing over at Lance.

“Yeah, just a block from the ocean. My parents still live there actually, which surprises me since it’s a little bigger than what they need. But, when something contains so many memories like that, it’s hard to give it up for a foreign environment.” Keith hummed in thought, eyes distant and face tight when Lance glanced over at him. He worried he might have said something wrong, but then Keith spoke up again.

“You had a big family then?”

“Oh yeah,” Lance couldn’t help but smile. His family was his everything. “Two older brothers, Marco and Luis, and an older sister, Veronica. I was the baby, so they always picked on me, but there was never a lack of love between us.” Lance smiled at the memories filtering through his mind.

“Sounds nice,” Keith said quietly, and almost a little longingly, but before Lance could reply, Caspian came running up.

“Mister Keith, can you push me on the swing. I need to go higher than Arlo and Stella.”

Keith stared at him as if unsure why this kid was asking him, but then nodded and stood, Caspian grabbing his hand and dragging him away. Once Arlo caught onto what his brother was doing, he quickly retrieved Lance, rushing out the same words as Caspian. Lance grabbed the bag, setting it down beside the swings, and rolled up his invisible sleeves.

“Now hold on tight, Arlo, cause I don’t want you falling off when you swing around in a full circle.”

“Can you really do that  papá ?!”

Lance chuckled. “Of course, but only really cool dads know how.”

Arlo’s smile stretched from ear to ear, and he twisted to look at Caspian. “I’m gonna beat you because  papá is a cool dad!”

“Well, Keith can be  _ my  _ cool dad, so you’re gonna lose!” Caspian countered, and Lance laughed at the way Keith’s eyes bugged out of his head. 

“Yeah, well, my dad is cooler than Keith, so he can push harder!”

“No! Keith is cooler!”

“Boys, neither of you are going to win if we don’t get started because right now Stella is in the lead,” Lance prompted, interrupting their shouting match before it could go any further. 

Both boys glanced over at where Stella was propelling herself without anyone’s help, then quickly started coordinating their legs and throwing their bodies back and forth-- a little chaotically, but they got the idea-- to get the swing moving. Lance nodded at Keith and they started pushing the boys, who let out squeals of delight. 

It seemed the competition was forgotten in the excitement of going as high as they could, and when all three of them started swinging together in sync peals of laughter erupted from them, and the rest of their time on the swings was spent falling out of sync and then trying to get back together. 

Lance and Keith stepped back when it was clear their help was no longer needed, settling under the tree for shade. This time Keith accepted the water offered to him, and then tied his hair back when he was finished. Lance flicked the ponytail and Keith glared at him, though it held no heat. Keith actually looked exhausted.

“Dude, you’ve got to be sweating in that all-black attire.” Keith only shrugged. “You know you can go home anytime. No need to stick around for my sake, I could do this in my sleep. You know, I actually did once, except the park was made of jello and Caspian and Arlo kept getting sucked into it…” Lance trailed off, the rest of the strange dream playing out in his head. 

Keith snorted-- he seemed to do that a lot and Lance was realizing it was his way of laughing-- and Lance came back to the present. 

“I don’t know how you do it.”

“Do what?” Lance cocked his head. “Dream? Because that’s not me, that’s all my brain.”

“Yeah,” Keith said after a beat. “Yeah, that’s what I was talking about.” Lance knew it wasn’t, but he didn’t push. Keith was still an acquaintance, a friend in his eyes, but he wasn’t sure how comfortable Keith was with him, so he held back. 

“You know, if I’m going to be seeing you around we should trade numbers so we can talk more often?” Lance phrased it as a question so Keith had the option to turn him down. 

“Sure.” Lance tried not to beam at the words, only mildly succeeding. 

He dug out his phone and passed it to Keith watching as he typed his number in, then sent him a message with a smiley face once he was finished. He changed the contact name from boring ‘Keith Kogane’ to ‘Hotshot’ with a flame emoji. 

“There, now we can talk as late or as early as we please.” Lance smiled and Keith returned it on a smaller scale. 

“I think I’m going to head out, but, uh, thanks for inviting me along. It was nice.”

“No problemo, I was just going to blame the kids if you hated this, so win-win for me.” Lance stood to see him off, brushing the mulch off his backside. “Oh, and speaking of children, they’ll be little terrors if you don’t say goodbye to them, so do me a solid.”

Keith nodded seriously, and Lance bit his lip. It was odd to have someone take everything he said so seriously. He watched as Keith made his way over to the children, exchanging a few words and stiffening when the kids hugged his legs, then with a final wave to Lance, he walked back to his bike. Lance heard the engine start up a moment later and he watched as Keith drove past, then disappeared, the engine fading as the distance grew. 

It wasn’t long until the kids were finished playing, and Lance suggested they have a picnic by the pond. They readily agreed and Lance guided them down the trail that would take them to the pond, the kids chasing butterflies and grasshoppers when they appeared. Lance tried to imitate bird calls and the kids found that just hilarious, copying him so badly it sounded like some poor animal was dying. Lance hoped nobody would come investigating. 

Once at the pond, Lance laid out a blanket and they all sat on a corner. Lance distributed the food and drinks, and everyone happily munched, the kids gasping and pointing every time a bird flew by and Lance tried to identify each one, but his bird skills were lacking. His interest was in marine biologist, not ornithology for pete’s sake! 

After lunch was finished, they all settled onto their backs to do some cloud watching at Stella’s insistence. 

“That one looks like a cat,” Stella said happily, hand raising to point at the sky. Lance quickly located the cloud she was talking about, its lumpy shape having two significant protrusions that resembled cat ears.

“I see it,” he praised.

“That one looks like broccoli. I hate broccoli.” Caspian said next, nose wrinkling at the thought the the vegetable. Personally, Lance thought all of them could imitate broccoli, but he wasn’t about to say that.

“I see a car! A cool one, not like papá’s car!” Arlo announced, pointing at his own cloud. Lance wanted to comment that his car was very much ‘cool,’ but didn’t get the chance as the kids started shouting out everything they saw.

“That one looks like my mom’s hair!”

“There’s a turtle wearing a hat!”

“That cloud looks like me!”

And so on. Their answers grew crazier as they tried to outdo each other, making a competition out if it. Lance didn’t completely understand the point system, each announcing they earned a point after they identified a cloud, but he never stopped grinning once, even adding some of his own occassionally. Eventually, the kids ran out of ideas and grew bored, so before they could become restless, Lance packed up and they headed back towards the park where their car was. 

It was 2 when they got back into the car, and Lance smiled. That left enough time for him and the kids to go back the Shirogane’s house and make dinner before Shiro and Allura arrived home. He had allotted plenty of time for this, knowing cooking with the kids would be slow going, but Shiro and Allura’s expressions when they come back from their busy day to find the table set and dinner steaming will be worth it. 

And it was.

 

***

 

Lance was sitting on the couch with a kid on each shoulder when his phone pinged and he glanced over Arlo to see who it was from, smiling when he caught sight of ‘Space Queen’ surrounded by two sparkling emojis. He reached for his phone, trying not to jostle a half-asleep Arlo while doing so. He managed, barely, and opened it to read the message from Allura.

A message from Allura usually meant one of three things: she had some gossip to share, was reminding Lance of something he had probably forgotten about, or wanted a new recipe to try. But this was none of those. This message was surprisingly vague, an adjective that Lance has never associated with Allura.

_ Are you available Sunday at 5pm? _

Lance responded with a ‘ _ yeah _ ’ nevertheless and Allura immediately responded with another vague response, that being ‘ _ good _ .’ Lance knew Allura was hiding something, and while he would normally push to be let in on the secret, he knew better with Allura. She didn’t keep secrets unless she had a good reason. So, he let it be. He’d find out soon enough.

He didn’t think about their conversation again until Saturday night when Allura reminded him to be at her house by 5pm the next day, then the rest of the night was spent texting Keith to see if he knew anything about this-- he didn’t, and Lance was sure that was the truth because no one could resist his nagging (read: sending as many texts as he could in a row just consisting of a single emoji) without telling him their darkest secrets. And Keith had gotten pretty riled up during that exchange, threatening Lance many times before Lance relented and changed the subject. 

_ So, tell me about your bike _ >> Lance sent, a motorcycle emoji punctuating that sentence. He wasn’t sure what else Keith liked to talk about, but he always seemed to perk up when his motorcycle was brought up.

_ What  _ <<

_ Your motorcycle. When did you get it? _ >>

_ Oh. Well I’ve had it since I was in highschool _ << Lance bit his lip, Keith’s awkwardness seemed to follow him through text.

_ I can just picture your young, emo self _ >>

_ Let me guess, you also got your finger gloves then too _ >>

_ No  _ << Keith answered a little too quickly.

_ I got them a little later _ <<

_ Knew it _ >>

_ Tell me more _ >>

_ Um okay. It was my dad’s, and he left it to me. It was really beat up when I got it. He used to race dirtbikes and it was his favorite bike. He called it his Red Lion.  _ <<

_ Is that why Caspian is so captivated by it? Did you fix it up yourself? _ >>

_ Maybe… _ <<

_ I wanted to. Actually started to, mostly just cleaning it of rust as best I could, but then Shiro suggested I take it to someone who knew what they were doing. We settled for asking for professional advice and then doing it ourselves _ <<

_ Well, it seems to have turned out perfectly fine. She’s a beauty to your beast _ >>

_ Ha. Ha. But thanks. Youtube may have been my best friend during the build _ <<

_ No shame. I couldn’t have done that even with all the help Youtube could offer _ >>

_ So what about you? _ <<

_ What about me? _ >>

_ Oh. I dunno. Just thought I’d return the favor of asking about something you like talking about.  _ << Lance took a moment to ease his beating heart, sighing loudly and letting his head fall back against his headboard. Keith was surprisingly sweet (was it surprising?). 

_ Well since you’re asking _ >>

_ Oh no _ <<

_ Let me tell you about the ocean. Did you know we know more about space than the ocean? It’s so vast and covers the majority of our planet, and who knows what its hiding! As a kid I always dreamed about finding some new creature and naming it after myself. Still do if I’m being honest. Gosh, how could people not find it intriguing?! It probably holds the most mysteries but no one gives it a second thought beyond ‘beach days.’ It’s like a whole nother world down there. And don’t get me started on mermaids _ ! >>

Lance hit send and only then did he realize just how long his message was. His stomach dropped in embarrassment. Keith probably didn’t care about all that. That was basically him just going on a rant about the ocean,  _ the ocean _ . He’s probably so bored-- oh gosh, it’s been two minutes and he hasn’t responded! 

_ Wow, I did not know that. So, do you believe in mermaids? _ << Lance reread the message five times, searching for the underlying ‘leave me alone’ but he couldn’t find anything but innocent curiosity.  

_ You are a brave man, Kogane _ >>

_ What  _ <<

_ Mermaids are 100 percent real and I’m going to be the first person to find them. They probably live in a bubble with magical properties, and that’s the reason we haven’t found them yet. Their houses probably resemble coral and junk like that. And they are probably so beautiful, bright colors and flowing hair. Do you think they should classify as fish or human? _ >>

_ Uh, both? So, you’ve thought about this a lot? _ <<

_ Yeah, you’re right. Oh yeah, almost every night _ >> He was waiting for Keith to scoff at him, write him off as some crazy.

_ Well, I can’t say I have, but I wish you the best in your search. _ << Lance nearly squealed.

_ Thanks, man. That means a lot _ >>

_ Really? _ <<

_ Yeah, people usually just laugh at me. Not just about mermaids, everything really. _ >>

_ Shit, sorry for going so deep with that text. But it is after midnight, and my texts get more real then so I plead innocent _ >>

_ No, it’s fine. Guess I’ll just have to start texting you after midnight then _ <<

_ Huh _ >>

_ You said you get more real after midnight? _ <<

Lance was breathless. He wasn’t sure if this counted as flirting but his reddening cheeks thought so. He felt like he was back in his childhood room when his feet had just gotten long enough to hang over the end of the bed and he would huddle under his covers texting his crush of that month. Except this wasn’t just a monthly crush. This was Keith.

_ Yeah, yeah I did _ >>

_ Well, as much as I hate cutting this short, I probably will be awake by 6 so I should probably sleep while I can _ >> He waited a few minutes for Keith to respond, frowning when he didn’t.

_ Mullet? _ >>

_ Hotshot?  _ >>

_ Did you seriously fall asleep before me?? Why do you always have to beat me at everything?! _ >>

_ Goodnight Keith _ >>

 

Lance managed to sleep in until 7, and that must have used up his luck for the day. Caspian and Arlo weren’t cooperating with him about anything today, and as sad as it was, he couldn’t wait to pass them over to Coran. Allura had insisted this be an ‘adults only get-together,’ because apparently adults have to disguise their parties as get-togethers now, and Coran volunteered his services since he apparently already knew what all this secrecy was about. Figures. Allura could never say no to that man, no one could. 

Coran arrived on time, as usual, with Stella in tow, and Lance greeted them before rushing out the door to his shift on the beach, which would end right at 5, so he’d have to book it over to Allura and Shiro’s. Luckily, his boss let him off thirty minutes early, so he arrived right on time. Literally, he walked in as the clock changed to 5:00, it’s tinkling chime ringing out, as if it was announcing his presence. 

He knew he smelled like the ocean and sweat, his hair was probably a mess too, but where he would normally care, he didn’t since he was only seeing his closest friends tonight. He hadn’t even bothered to put his shirt back on yet, too focused on getting into the house on time. He heard laughter coming from the kitchen, so he quickly made his way towards it.

“Did someone order dinner and a show?” Lance slid into the room, flexing and adopting a wicked smirk. He heard someone choke on their drink but ignored it as he threw his shirt towards Pidge-- he was surprised she was on time-- but she only threw it back at him, laughing as it wrapped around his face.

“No one wants to see that dad bod, Lance,” she teased.

Lance gasped in mock offense, pulling his shirt from his face and slipping it on, one arm getting stuck for a moment before he wiggled it free. “I’ll have you know, I do yoga regularly. I mean, have you tried the ‘two kids pulling in opposite directions on your arms’ position, it’s very good for the back.” 

“Whatever,” Pidge snorted.

“That is a good pose, Lance, but I personally love the ‘kid grabs ahold of your ponytail and pulls’ position, stretches my back more thoroughly,” Allura added.

“Ah, haven’t tried that one,” Lance smiled, accepting the drink Hunk held out to him. He settled against the island, waving across to Shiro who had a hand on Keith’s back, while Keith’s face was hidden by his hands. 

“So, you gonna tell us what this cryptic get-together is about, ‘Lura?” Lance sipped his drink, the others agreeing with his statement.

“Yes! I have been wondering what it is you want to tell us,” Shay said, leaning forward in her seat. 

“And I will. Eventually.” Everyone groaned and Allura smiled-- Lance always said she fed off their pain. “You’ll know by the end of the night, I assure you.”

Lance turned on Shiro. “Shiro, are we not your best friends? You can tell us the secret, we’ll protect you from Allura’s wrath!”

“No thanks, I’d like to keep my remaining arm!” Lance deflated, shouting betrayal, but it was all for show. 

“Would you like more Sangria?” Allura offered sweetly, and the betrayals were immediately forgotten. 

They passed the time with some drinking games, most of them oddly themed. For example, when Allura won spin the bottle (how does one person win spin the bottle?) she made them all drink something called ‘the dirty diaper,’ which was surprisingly accurate to its taste. And when they were all buzzed enough, she had everyone try to swaddle one of Stella’s dolls, which was challenging as their coordination lessened. They ate some King’s cake to absorb all the alcohol they had been drinking, and Lance found himself sitting beside Keith during this break. He bumped shoulders with him in greeting and Keith bumped back, his hooded eyes bright and cheeks flushed from alcohol.  

Hunk and Shay joined them and Lance remembered the prank he had told Shay to pull on Hunk earlier that week, so he asked about it. Hunk glared at him upon hearing it had been his idea, claiming he had had to take three showers for the eggs and flour and feathers to all disappear. Lance dissolved into a laughing fit at the declaration and fell into Keith in the process. Keith was warm, and the longer Lance stayed the less he wanted to move, but he was forced to when Allura clapped her hands together, drawing all attention to her.

She was standing tall at the island and everyone gathered around her. She was glowing with excitement, sharing a smile with Shiro. Everyone knew what was coming next, the secret, and they all leaned forwards eagerly.

“Are you ready to learn why I gathered you all here tonight?”

“Uh, yeah, we were hoping to get you drunk enough to tell us sooner, but that obviously didn’t work. I almost got to Shiro though,” Pidge spoke up, her glasses pushed up on her head, comically askew, but her eyes had never been more focused. 

“Well, now you’ll know.” Allura stepped aside and pulled open the oven door behind her, doing a good impression of Vanna White while everyone just stared into the stove blankly. She sighed and reached inside, holding up a hamburger bun. Everyone went silent.

“You...found the perfect way to toast your hamburger buns?” Matt said, words more slurred than anyone else’s had been. Pidge punched his arm, but he didn’t even react. 

“No, you idiot, there was a bun in the oven. Do you know what that means?” 

Lance processed those words, then did it once more, his eyes slowly widening in realization. He screeched, poor Keith nearly falling off the stool he had claimed at the sudden noise directly into his ear, but Lance would apologize later.

“Oh my gosh! You’re pregnant!” He rushed towards Allura and Shiro, who had slung an arm around her shoulder. 

Everyone else followed suite, a sea of ‘congratulations’ filling the room, the energy and excitement palpable. Tonight made so much more sense now. Lance had not been expecting this at all, but he was beyond happy for them. Just another little tyke-- wow, Blaytz was rubbing off on him-- to have running around, and for him to be a cool uncle to. Who wouldn’t love that?

Lance glanced over at Keith to see a series of complicated emotions on his face, all combining into something Lance couldn’t identify. Maybe Keith just didn’t know how to react to this, he looked a bit zoned out. Or maybe it was just the alcohol. Whatever it was, it wasn’t Lance’s business. He returned his attention to Allura and Shiro.

“Do you have names picked out yet?”

“We have a couple. We won’t know the gender for a while longer, of course.”

“You must let me bake a cake for the gender reveal!” Shay said excitedly, patting one of Allura’s hands. The other was being gripped tightly by Shiro. 

“That was our plan, actually,” Allura giggled.

“Oh man, I’m going to go all out! I’m rooting for another girl!” Lance beamed. 

Everyone laughed and started shouting what they think it’ll be, until Shiro won the argument with:

“They’ll be perfect, is what they’ll be!”

 

***

 

Pidge had a tendency of just appearing unexpectedly. Lance had just finished putting Caspian and Arlo to bed when he walked into the living room and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Pidge there, sitting in the dark lazily flipping through the channels, the light of the television reflecting in her glasses.

“Pidge, what the hell?” Lance whisper-yelled. 

“I was bored.”

Lance snorted and collapsed onto the couch beside them. “So, you just decided to break into my house?”

“Yup,” Pidge shoved a handful of chips into her mouth.

“And eat my food apparently.” Lance deadpanned, headbutting her legs until she dropped some into his waiting mouth. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” he grumbled, then hummed when she complied.

“I’m not cute,” she said petulantly, and he now knew where Arlo had picked that up from. 

“Want me to braid your hair?” Lance asked, his fingers reaching up to tug at the wild strands. Pidge has been growing her hair out a bit-- it now reached her shoulders-- but she recently shaved a design just above the nape of her neck, and Lance’s new favorite thing was braiding the hair to showcase it. 

She shrugged in response, but Lance knew she loved it just as much as he did. 

“I’m gonna try princess Leia buns this time!” Lance sat up eagerly, pulling Pidge closer.

The television droned on, filling the silence as Lance focused, his deft fingers weaving the strands until he twisted them off into two buns. They were a little lopsided, but Lance was proud for his first time and would have it perfected the next time. He poked Pidge’s neck to signal he was finished and she hopped up, running to the bathroom to peer into a mirror. She pranced back , a smile on her face.

“I think this is my favorite so far,” she complimented and Lance beamed. “You should play with Romelle’s hair, she has plenty! It’s like living with Rapunzel.” 

Romelle was Pidge’s roommate she had met at a ComiCon convention last summer, and while the two were very different in many ways, they were also similar and made a dangerous and unexpected team. Romelle was a fashion designer who used her talents to make amazing costumes for the pair of them, and Pidge always took them to the next level with her tech skills. Lance couldn’t wait to see what the two would come up with for Halloween this year.

“I’ll be sure to next time I see her. I envy her locks.”

Pidge laughed and the two fell into comfortable conversation, and once they grew too tired to talk any longer, Pidge put on Mythbusters, the sound of Adam’s laugh as well as the explosions following them into their dreams.

Let’s just say, the boy’s were ecstatic to find Pidge the next morning, however, Pidge was not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I am really proud that I didn't have to look up the word 'ornithology,' I just knew it.   
> Also, aren't Hunk and Shay just the cutest?? They are my fav! And, gosh, I love Romelle so much. She was so great in season 7 and I can't wait to see more of her. I also realized how great and interesting Romelle and Pidge's dynamic would be, and I hope we'll get to see some of that soon.   
> All this is so fluffy and cute, and I'm having a lot of fun writing this! Until next time, stay safe and be kind!


	3. Chapter Three

“Arlo, where’s your brother?” They were grocery shopping and Caspian had disappeared.

Lance spun around frantically, one hand still gripping Arlo, as he tried to find Caspian. He had a tendency of trying to climb under the cart, often resulting him in getting stuck, body wiggling until Lance pulled him out, but he wasn’t there now. He wasn’t anywhere in this aisle. Where could he have possibly gone in the couple of seconds it took for Lance to grab the cereal from the lower shelves?

Lance gripped his hair and took a deep breath, an effort to calm himself because he was four, Caspian couldn’t have gone far, right? Images of Caspian wandering out the doors and into a parking lot flashed through Lance’s mind and his heart rate picked up again. He started calling for Caspian, lifting Arlo into the cart so he wouldn’t wander off as well, then started searching the aisles, almost crashing into an old lady who scowled at him, but he didn’t have time for elderly drama.

“Papá! Papá, look, Mister Keith!” Arlo suddenly shouted, pointing and Lance followed his finger to see the dark-haired man crouching at the end of an aisle.

He almost ignored him for now, but then he watched as Keith stood, offering a hand to..wait was that _Caspian_. Lance let out a relieved sigh and made his way to them.

“Trying to steal my son, Hotshot?” Lance smirked, hoping he wasn’t shaking as much as he had been just a minute before.

Keith whirled around, eyes wide as a surprised sound escaped his mouth before he could cut it off. Lance bit his lip to keep from laughing.

“Like father like son,” he grumbled, glancing at Caspian who was staring at Keith in awe. Wonder what Keith said to get that response?

“And, no I didn’t kidnap him, he just...appeared.”

Lance snorted. “Well, he almost gave me a heart attack,” Lance turned to address Caspian, “so I hope you’re happy.” He poked his son’s stomach, earning a giggle.

“I am, papá, Mister Keith said he can drive a spaceship!” Caspian bounced up and down.

This also caught Arlo’s attention, who started jumping up and down, rattling the cart. “Mister Keith, you can drive a spaceship?!” That was the twins’ newest obsession--space and spaceships.

“Is that so? And what does this spaceship look like?” Lance said, amused.

Keith looked shell-shocked, and Lance couldn’t decide if that was from the kids’ attention or Lance’s.

“It looks like a lion!” And it looks like the obsession with lions hasn’t quite been replaced yet. Lance smiled, watching as Capian rambled on, a hand wrapped in Keith’s shirt to hold his attention; Caspian may be the shyer of the two, but once he was comfortable with someone, he won’t ever stop talking.

“Well, maybe next time Keith will show it to you--” Lance winked at Keith-- “but he won’t if you keep pestering him.”

Both kids nodded, smiles blinding and Lance got caught up in their warmth; his children were his universe. He was brought back to the present by Keith clearing his throat, and Lance glanced over to see him retrieving his basket from where had set it down on the ground.

“So, what brings you here?” Lance said casually, lifting Arlo out of the cart since he was getting restless. Lance didn’t need him accidentally squishing their bananas.

“Uh, shopping for groceries?” Keith raised an eyebrow and Lance mentally face-palmed. Obviously, they were in a freaking _grocery store_.

“Right, of course,” Lance chuckled.

“Yeah, so uh, try not to lose anymore of your kids, okay? And I’ll see you around?” Lance smiled at how he said it like it was something he questioned.

“Duh, once you meet me, you can’t escape me, or my children,” Lance added, watching as his kids chased each other around Keith. He also happened to notice what was in Keith’s basket. “Wait, is that your dinner?”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Um, yeah?”

“Keith, that’s just Nutella and waffles! That’s not a dinner!”

Keith just continued to stare at Lance with a raised eyebrow and Lance didn’t want to admit that was doing things to his heart. Then he shrugged. “Beats any of Shiro and Allura’s cooking.”

“Hey, Shiro cooked at my grill out!”

“He’s had time to perfect that art, but with anything other than cereal, he’s hopeless,” Keith retaliated, crossing his arms.

“Looks like it runs in the family,” Lance mused, leaning on his cart in what he hoped made him look suave. “What about Allura?”

“She just forgets about the food and ends up burning it.”

“Ah, I can see that. She always seems to have multiple somethings on her mind.” Lance tapped his chin. “Now I feel bad for Stella. How has she survived for this long?”

“That’s actually why I’m here,” Keith said, raising the basket. “I’m watching her tonight and this was her request.”

Lance clucked his tongue. “You should bring her over to our house one night and I’ll give her a taste of some real food, Cuban style!”

“You know how to cook?” Keith looked surprised and Lance puffed out his chest.

“Of course! No one left my mother’s house without knowing the basics of cooking at least. I may not be as good as Hunk, but I can hold my own.” The sentence was punctuated with a squeal as the cart was suddenly pulled out from under Lance’s arm and he scrambled to regain his balance. Luckily, an arm managed to grab his shoulder and steady him, and that arm belonged to Keith, whose face was really close to Lance’s now. Has Lance mentioned he really loved Keith’s eyes? Because he really did.

“Papá, I’m hungry!” And he was a dad again, no longer back in his loverboy teen years.

Lance cleared his throat. “Right. Of course you are.” He glanced at Keith, suddenly feeling very shy, and his smile reflected that. “Thanks, Keith.”

Keith tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. “No problem.”

“Papá!” Arlo screamed and pushed the cart back towards Lance roughly, but Lance stopped it before it could ram into his ankles--it was an art he had learned quickly after the first occurrence left bruises big enough to be concerning.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Kids, am I right?” Lance chuckled and awkwardly waved goodbye. “Oh, and I was serious about bringing Stella over one night!” Lance called to Keith’s retreating form. Keith turned and gave him a thumbs up, and Lance couldn’t stop a smile from lighting his face.

The rest of the trip was rushed, as expected with cranky kids, but he managed to grab the essentials with minimal whining--the bakery samples probably had a role in that-- but his encounter with Keith had him riding high, something he didn’t think too hard about.

 

***

 

It was laundry day, the day Lance despised. He glared at the mountain of unfolded clothes that currently sat on the bed, and they seemed to glare back. But Arlo was running out of underwear and Caspian was whining about not being able to wear his favorite shirt, so this was a must on his to-do list. Lance sighed and put on his music from his phone, turning up the volume to where he could still hear the boys playing in the other room, then dove into the pile of twisted clothes.

He hummed as he worked, body moving with the music--he was never one who could stay still when a song was on-- and lost himself into an easy rhythm. Grab, fold, repeat. He made it through half the pile before he was distracted, that distraction being Caspian and Arlo’s attempts at dancing. They must have heard Lance’s music and came to investigate, which was why the both of them were now, to loosely put it, dancing which mostly consisted of a vague version of the twist paired with uncoordinated spins and flailing of their arms, along with a bop to their hips that Lance knew came from watching him, his chest growing warm at the thought.  

Lance set aside his most recent chore--something that wasn’t too difficult-- and showed the boys some new dance moves, which they dutifully copied. He taught them a simple routine, something he was planning to show Allura and Shiro and Stella at the next playdate.

But, a four year old’s attention span could only stay focused on one thing for so long, and the dancing soon gave way to climbing, the boys tugging at Lance’s clothes in an attempt to get on his shoulders. He simply plucked them up and threw them onto the bed after each attempt, their squeals filling the room. Arlo soon got smart, and hopped up onto the bed so he could then jump onto Lance’s shoulders, clinging on when he succeed and roaring right into Lance’s ear. Lance played along, falling back onto the bed, careful not to crush Arlo in the process, and playing dead, tongue lolling out dramatically. Caspian immediately leapt on him as well, and the two began to tousle atop Lance. After a few too close calls with the kicking feet, Lance managed to slip out from under them and just watch them fondly for a few more minutes until he shooed them out of the room, sighing loudly, but fondly, when he saw that all his hard work had been destroyed, the clothes he had folded strewn haphazardly across the bed and some on the floor. He chuckled and started up his work once more.

At their next playdate the boys eagerly followed Lance’s instructions and put on a magnificent performance for the Shirogane family, who enthusiastically clapped when their dance concluded. Arlo and Caspian insisted they teach them the moves as well and the playdate turned into a dance party.

Lance and Allura were busy taking videos--not only of the kids though, Shiro, Lance learned, had absolutely no rhythm and it was hilarious-- until the kids dragged them into the mix. Allura quickly swept Shiro up into a foxtrot, or something reminiscent of it with Shiro’s two left feet, while Stella claimed Lance. Arlo and Caspian had no problem dancing together, and Lance noticed them watching Allura and taking notes, correcting their posture and foot placement from time to time.

It was a great time; Lance’s throat was dry from belting out the lyrics to all the songs, and his arms slightly sore from how many times Stella had demanded he spin her around fast enough for her feet to come off the ground. Shiro had collapsed onto the couch after the intensive routine Allura had put him through, and Arlo had joined him, curling into his side. Caspian and Stella had partnered up, still twirling around the living room with Stella guiding their steps in a simple waltz she knew from Allura. Lance and Allura smiled as they watched them, feet tapping along to the music until Lance finally offered his hand, Allura taking it with a smile and a wink.

They easily fell into a salsa dance, one that Lance had personally taught Allura, and the kids soon stopped their own dancing to watch in awe, clapping and laughing along. Lance lost himself in the joyous atmosphere; it reminded him of his home back in Cuba, and reminded him that he has made a home here as well.

 

***

 

It was Lance’s monthly meetup with Allura, the two taking the day to catch up and relax at their favorite spa in town. Shiro was watching the kids, something Allura had at first been hesitant about since Shiro may always look calm and collected on the outside, but can easily become overwhelmed; it was why Allura was protective of him, something Lance found endearing, as did Shiro. But he assured her, as he did everytime, that he could handle the kids for a day and she had relented.

Now, she was happily droning on beside Lance while their toenails were being painted by two girls named Claire and Alina, who they knew quite well by now. Allura was updating Lance on the town gossip amongst the mothers--Allura was a part of a group chat with women who had children Stella’s age, which she claimed she used to stay updated, but Lance pretended he didn’t notice the gleam she got in her eyes every time she said that. Lance found it all amusing since he knew Allura would never use anything she learns with mal-intent, though that didn’t make her any less intimidating or undeserving of her earned title of ‘Queen.’

“Well, I think I’ve been blabbering on enough about Linda’s romance novel,” Allura said with a sigh, waving her newly-manicured hand in the air as if shooing the topic away. “What have you got to talk about, Lance?”

Lance thought for a moment before a smile lit his face and he eagerly leaned towards Allura, who did the same, face expectant.

“Last week I lost Caspian while at the grocery store and I was frantically searching each aisle, calling his name and probably looking like an amatuer parent, and you know where I found him? At Keith’s side! What are the chances?!” Lance laughed brightly and Allura did as well.

“Caspian has really warmed up to Keith. They’re basically inseparable now!”

“I don’t think Keith has a say in it, but yeah, every time Keith shows up at the park, Caspian drags him away to play. I feel like I should be offended, but I just can’t. It’s too cute; Keith always looks like a deer in headlights and listens to every word that comes out of Caspian’s mouth intently. Caspian takes full advantage of him.” He fades out at the look on Allura’s face, the same look she gets when she’s found new dirt on someone. “Oh no, no no no. I know that face.” Allura’s smile only widened. “Stop thinking whatever you’re thinking!”

“Too late!” She sing-songed, her ponytail swinging with the movements of her head. “Tell me more about Keith, you know you want to. Maybe I can put in a good word for you.”

Lance groaned. “Allura, you’ll just scare him away. Actually, I’m surprised he’s stuck around this long. He seems like the flighty type, and I can be a bit much on my own, but with two kids, most people run.”

Allura smacked his arm. “Stop thinking like that. You’re you and you are wonderful! And I think Keith can see that.”

Lance’s gaze snapped to hers. “What- what do you mean?”

“Keith doesn’t just give his time away to people he doesn’t like, Lance,” Allura says like it’s something everyone knows. “So, if he’s still hanging around, that means he has a reason to stay.”

Lance wasn’t sure what to do with this information, stunned into silence by Allura’s words, and it was Allura’s words that brought him back to the present.

“So, tell me more about Keith. That man doesn’t talk enough, and I want more dirt on him.” Lance shook his head, unable to contain his smile, his muttering of ‘unbelievable’ causing Allura to giggle.

“If you insist,” Lance smirked, flipping through the past couple of time’s he’s seen Keith to see what was worth telling Allura-- he had plenty to choose from, not that he was going to tell Allura that.

“Did you know Keith can do magic? He performed a trick for Caspian and Arlo one time, and I tried to act nonchalant--” Allura interrupted with an ‘as you do’-- “but I was stunned! I didn’t even see where the quarter went! It was in his hand one second and the next he was pulling it out of his shoe, his shoe?! And then he did another with cards too, and I tried to pay attention, to follow his hands closely, but I still couldn’t figure it out. It was there one moment, and gone the next! Like, how does he do that?!” Lance’s eyebrows furrowed, his mind still trying to figure the trick out.

Allura laughed. “I’ll have to ask him to perform a trick for me. If I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”

“Good luck with that,” Lance scoffed. “I have eyes like a hawk’s, so I doubt anyone else has as good a chance as I did at figuring out Keith’s mysterious ways.”

“You could just ask him to teach you,” Allura suggested, raising an eyebrow.

“No no no,” Lance shook his head. “I cannot. That defeats the purpose of our rivalry.”

“Rivalry,” Allura deadpanned. “Why is this the first time I’ve heard of this.”

“Okay, maybe I just call it that because it sounds cooler, and maybe Keith has no idea it exists. But I’m determined to be better than Keith-- in a friendly competition kind of way! And he’s already ahead because of that sweet bike he rides around town, and now I have to add magic to the list as well! What can I do to get ahead, Allura?” Lance waves his hands animatedly as he talks, and Allura just listens with an amused smile.

“Play your strengths,” she says simply. “Show him what you’re good at.”

“What _am_ I good at? Everyone seems to specialize in something--like you at dancing-- but I don’t have something like that.”

“That’s what makes you special, Lance. You can do many things, so show him that.”

“Wait, this sounds too much like dating advice.” Lance squinted at Allura, whose smile turned too sweet.

She shrugged innocently. “You asked how to impress Keith, so I gave you my answer.”

“I’m not sure impress was the word I used.” Allura just kept smiling, and Lance pondered her words until Claire had finished his toenails, then it was pushed aside as Allura approached the idea of signing their kids up for a dance class.

 

***

 

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5…” Arlo’s voice droned on as he counted the freckles on Lance’s face. Lance laid on his back on the couch, Arlo sitting on his stomach, staring intently at Lance’s face. Caspian was sitting with his back against the couch while he played with his stuffed animals. Lance idly ran his fingers through Caspian’s curls, eyes closed, mind calm as he listened to Arlo count.

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5…” Arlo started over. He was only able to count up to ten, so once he reached that he just restarted. Lance was working on counting with them, as well as the alphabet, which they were slightly better at. Lance thinks the song helps them remember it better.

But for now, he was content with just laying there as Arlo’s voice droned on and Caspian’s sound effects chimed in occasionally. The atmosphere was so comfortable that Lance was already half asleep, until something poked his cheek, startling him. He opened his eyes to see Arlo staring at him like he had been caught in the act, but just what was the act? Lance glanced down and saw a blue marker in his hands and it clicked. Arlo must have realized that he realized what he had been doing and scrambled to explain.

“I’m sorry Papá, but I kept losing my place while I was counting,” he pouted, sticking his lip out and making his eyes big like he knew Lance couldn’t resist it.

“It’s alright, Arlo,” he chuckled. “Just ask me next time.” Arlo nodded diligently, then proceeded with his counting.

“Papá,” Caspian now spoke up, squatting beside the couch and staring at Lance expectantly.

“Caspian,” Lance replied in the same tone.

“What do you think Keith is doing right now?”

Lance blinked. Then he laughed. “Well, I don’t know. Would you like to call him?”

Caspian nodded rapidly, his curls bouncing. “Okay, go grab my phone from off the kitchen table.”

Before he even finished the sentence, Caspian was already taking off for he kitchen and Lance chuckled again, causing Arlo to yell at him to stay still. He dutifully froze, only holding out his hand once Caspian returned and opened up FaceTime, clicking on Keith’s contact, holding his phone out to the side to fit them all into the picture, though Arlo was still counting his freckles.

The ringtone continued for so long Lance was sure Keith wasn’t going to answer but then his face popped up onto the screen, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the screen. A halo of light was behind him, making his already inky locks appear even darker and his eyes look like burning coals. Lance was momentarily speechless.

“Mister Keith!” Caspian shouted, jumping in excitement.

“Caspian? What are you doing?” Keith’s voice sounded thick, like he had just woken up, which didn’t make sense since it was almost four in the afternoon. He must have taken a nap.

“I’m playing space lions! The princess, which is right here--” Caspian grabbed a plastic dinosaur and held it up far too close to the camera-- “ate the bad guy.” Lance snorted and he could just make out Keith’s smile from behind Caspian, who continued to tell Keith about his day. “And Arlo is counting Papá’s freckles with a marker, a blue marker though, because that’s Papá’s favorite color and Arlo wanted to use it so Papá wouldn’t get mad.”

“Oh, that’s what’s going on. Did your Papá get mad?” Keith smirked, making eye contact with Lance, who tried to play it cool but could feel his face rapidly heating up.

“No, I think he was asleep. Then he let me call you!”

“He wanted to know what you were doing,” Lance clarified and Keith nodded, the bottom of his face disappearing into his pillow.

“I was actually sleeping too. Had a late night last night with Shiro.” Lance made a knowing noise and Keith shot a glare at Lance, who just winked.

“Is Shiro there with you now?” Caspian asked, very focused on the picture of Keith and taking up half the screen.

“No, he went home last night.”

“Are you going to come over soon, Mister Keith?” Keith blinked, caught off guard by the sudden pout in Caspain’s voice.

“I miss you. And I bet Papá does too. He talks about you a lot.”

“What?! No I don’t!” Lance squawked.

“Yeah, you do.” Arlo paused his counting to say. Lance squinted at him.

“No cookies for either of you,” he muttered then turned back to Keith, who was staring at him with that damn raised eyebrow.

Luckily, Caspian continued unphased, and just didn’t stop. Lance ended up giving him the phone and he happily gave Keith a tour of their house, even though he’s already been there. Lance smiled as he heard Caspian talk about the photos he kept on his nightstand, but then yelped and jumped up-- he’d apologize to Arlo later-- when Caspian said, “And here’s where my Papá keeps his underwear.”

 

***

 

_ Hotshot sent a photo  _ <<

_ Guess what  _ <<

_ OH MY GOSH YOU GOT A DOG  _ >> Lance held his phone close as he zoomed in on the photo Keith sent. He couldn’t see much, but he could definitely tell that was a dog hiding underneath the table. The large bone off to the side only further confirmed this.

_ Yeah  _ <<

_ And???  _ >>

_ And what? _ << Lance sighed, loudly. Keith was hopeless sometimes.

_ When? Why? How?  _ >>

_ Oh  _ <<

_ Today. Not sure why, or if this was even a good idea yet. He came from a rescue group, so he’s pretty skittish. That’s why he’s under the table, ran there as soon as we got home and he won’t come out.  _ <<

_ Aw, poor baby! He needs some love!  _ >>

_ We used to have a rescue dog when I was younger. Thor was great once he got acclimated, so just give him time and be patient. He’ll warm up to you!  _ >>

_ You’re dog’s name was Thor?  _ <<

_ Yeah. Awesome, right? When he would run past by mother’s china cabinet, all the dishes inside would rattle  _ >>

_ That’s hilarious  _ <<

_ Ikr  _ >>

_ So what’s this guy’s name?  _ >>

_ He doesn’t have one yet. The past owner didn’t give him much of anything, including a name. Something I’m kind of glad about so he’s not connected to that jerk in any way.  _ <<

_ Do you know the breed?  _ >>

_ Alaskan Malamute  _ <<

_ Nice. So, when can I see him?  _ <<

_ I mean, it’s your call. I don’t want to intrude or scare him, so it’s okay to say no. And I definitely won’t bring the boys. They may be too much for him just yet.  _ >>

_ Let’s give it a week. I need him to trust me before I bring anyone else into the picture.  _ <<

_ Of course. I’ll check back in a week and you can give me a yay or nay :)  _ >>

_ Yeah  _ <<

A week passed and Lance got the okay from Keith, something he was more excited about than he’d admit. Keith had been giving him daily updates and had been asking a lot of questions pertaining to caring for the dog. 

How much food should I feed him? What’s the best food?

What toys do you thinks he’ll like?

Why are there so many collars? Should I get him the one with spikes?

Lance had laughed at that last one. He told Keith of course he would like an edgy collar for his dog to match his edgy self. He could just picture Keith pouting as he typed out ‘I’m not edgy. And I was joking.’ Keith had ended up buying a plain blue one, after getting Lance’s approval, of course. 

Amidst all that, the dog--which Lance has yet to hear a name for-- has grown used to Keith, trusting him enough to no longer hide underneath furniture. And Lance couldn’t help but smile at each proud text he received from Keith. The first one he had gotten was a picture showing the dog eating in the kitchen (Keith had always had to feed him under the table because he refused to come out) with Keith’s hand pointing at the dog visible in the corner of the picture. The most recent had been a picture from where Keith was evidently sitting on the couch, legs stretched before him with a pillow on his lap, but what Lance was supposed to focus on was the dog that was laying at his feet, curled up with his tail resting over his nose. 

And now, after a week of watching from afar, Lance was finally going to meet this furball. He hopped up the steps to Keith’s quaint house--a small brick house with navy shutters and poor landscaping-- and knocked a cheery tune on the door. It was long and overly complicated, and Keith opened the door before he could finish, an unimpressed look on his face. Lance only beamed and waved, pushing past Keith.

“Where’s the furball?” His eyes searched the living room, and spotted a fluffy tail peeking out from behind the coffee table. 

Lance glanced at Keith, just to be sure it was still alright, and after Keith gave a small nod he slowly approached, pausing when he was in view of the dog, who startled at his appearance, his beautiful ice blue eyes wide. Lance raised a hand to wave, then lowered it back down when he realized how stupid he must look. The dog continued to stare at him, so he stared back, too afraid that any movement would send the dog running. After a minute, Lance slowly lowered himself down to the floor, but as soon as his butt touched the dog got up and retreated to an adjacent room.

“Sorry about that. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react since you’re the first person she’s seen besides me, but I guess he’s still a little shy. Maybe give him some time?” Keith said from behind Lance. He exited the conjoined kitchen and handed Lance a glass of water. 

Lance tried not to take the retreat personally, but of course everyone wants to be an animal whisperer, to make every animal like them. He shook off his disappointment and realized Keith was right, the dog just needed time.

“I’ve got time,” he smiled, accepting the glass with a nod of thanks. Then Lance realized this is his first time at Keith’s house, and they were alone. He took a sharp intake of breath, however, seeing as he was also drinking water that only left him in a spluttering mess with Keith looking onwards in concern. 

“Sorry,” Lance croaked, “Wrong pipe.”

“Hate when that happens,” Keith replied sympathetically.

Lance collected himself, cautiously taking another sip as if it would betray him again, but it went down smoothly. He sighed, glad to be able to breathe again, and glanced around Keith’s apartment. The couch looked worn but not overly so, and it had a colorful blanket thrown over the back of it. The coffee table was weathered, but that was the style nowadays, and it matched Keith’s aesthetic well, though Lance did notice it was empty save for a few coasters that looked vaguely familiar--did Allura have the same set?-- while Lance’s own always had piles of things on it. Lance twisted to glance into the kitchen, which was conjoined with the living room in an open floor plan. It was small and outdated, but so was Lance’s, so he couldn’t care less, the most important thing being that it was functional. Overall, Lance found the home to be cozy and comfortable, and Lance said as much.

“Thanks, I haven’t really done much to the place since I moved in.”

“Really?” Lance glanced around once more, now noticing the lack of personalized items. The walls were bare, as were the wooden floors, no rugs to be seen or plants to liven up the place, nor were there pictures anywhere. Lance made a mental note to change that. 

“Those things come with time.” 

Keith looked relieved at the words, his shoulders settling, and he smiled softly. Lance gazed at that expression, then acted like he had been looking elsewhere when Keith’s eyes turned back to him.

“Uh, make yourself comfortable. I don’t have much to eat-”

“Except Nutella and waffles?” Lance grinned. Keith glared at him, sitting down on the couch with his arms crossed. 

“Yes.” He looked like he wanted to argue against that, but couldn’t, so Lance laughed. Keith ignored him, expression turning smug. “I  _ was  _ going to order a pizza, but maybe I’ll just subject you to Nutella and waffles so you can see for yourself that it’s an acceptable meal.”

“No, Keith, you can’t do this to me!” Lance whined, flopping down onto the couch in mock despair. 

When Keith didn’t respond Lance peeked at him, but Keith was smirking at him and okay, he could do that anytime he wanted, but as much as Lance loved that look, he had to preserve his Nutella-and-waffles-is-not-a-respectable-dinnerl reputation. So, he scooted closer to Keith, then closer again, and started to slowly lean in, eyes locked with Keith’s, who was now getting antsy, glancing away from Lance and then back again, eyes never settling. It made Lance’s grin widen. Finally, Keith cracked when Lance started wiggling his eyebrows and he pushed Lance away by the shoulders with a scoff.

“Fine, I’ll order a pizza, but never make that face again!” He shouted as he retreated to find his phone, disappearing into the same room the dog had, which Lance was assuming was his bedroom. His bedroom, huh? Nope, Lance quickly turned his thoughts away from that direction.

Keith emerged with the phone to his ear, asking for Lance’s choice in toppings, and once all that was settled, he tossed the device onto the table and sunk onto the couch once more. 

“It’ll be here in twenty minutes, I hope you’re happy.” 

“Very. Thank you.” 

The silence surrounded them and Lance began to fidget, looking anywhere but Keith. He pulled his knees up onto the couch, then started drumming his fingers on them. The silence soon got to Keith as well and he turned on the television, settling on some Travel Channel show-- the Food Network would just make him hungrier right now. The two lost themselves in that until the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of pizza. Keith retrieved it, setting the box down onto the coffee table before retrieving some sodas for them to drink.

They both didn’t hesitate to stuff their faces, a competition on who could eat more starting at some point, which was followed by a soda chugging contest, and a burping contest after that. Lance laughed so hard tears sprouted in his eyes when Keith won the burping contest, his laughter interrupted occasionally by hiccups. For someone so quiet, Keith could really let loose, however, that may be because of Lance egging him on, but who could say. Luckily, Keith was also laughing, so Lance wasn’t worried about pushing him too far out of his comfort zone. It probably helped it was just the two of them. 

Right. It was just the two of them. Lance’s laughter died down and he glanced at Keith out of the corner of his eyes, marveling at how bright Keith looked when he laughed. Keith’s laughter faded out and he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, eyes opening and finding Lance.

“I win,” he said smugly.

“Maybe this round, but I’ll get you. Just you wait.”

“You’re going to go home and practice, aren’t you?”

“What?” Lance spluttered, because he was totally  _ not  _ going to do that. “Look. I let you win this round.” Lance ignored Keith’s ‘uh huh’ and continued on. “That was just me saying thanks for the pizza. And don’t think you’ll get another freebie. So, don’t get used to-” Lance cut off when something cold and wet bumped against his arm. His eyes snapped towards the sensation, finding Keith’s dog cautiously sniffing him. Lance bit his lip to contain a squeal, glancing excitedly at Keith, who was covering his mouth to hide his laughter, then quickly returned to the dog. He didn’t dare move lest he scare him away again, so he waited, eyes watching for any kind of signal from the dog to show what he was thinking.

Finally, the dog stepped back and sat down, staring at Lance and tilting his head. Lance wasn’t sure what that meant, so he glanced at Keith again, who nodded his head at the dog, his eyes sparkling with amusement. Lance got the message-- he could finally pet him. He cautiously reached out a hand and placed the tips of his fingers atop the dog’s head. When the dog didn’t react, Lance continued until he was running both of his hands through the fur and occasionally scratching behind the dog’s ears, which made his tail wag extra fast. 

“Aren’t you cute, the absolute cutest!” Lance cooed, leaning in close, and the dog licked his cheek. 

“That means he likes you,” Keith’s voice cut through his cuddle session.

“Yeah?” Lance turned hopeful eyes on Keith. 

“Yeah.”

“Well, I like you too--” Lance paused, realizing he didn’t know this dog’s name yet. “Keith, what’s his name?

“Uh,” Keith scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. “I haven’t really decided yet.”

“Keith. You’ve had this dog for over a week. What have you been calling him?” Lance deadpanned.

“Uh,  _ dog _ ?”

Lance’s mouth dropped. That just wouldn’t do. He tapped his chin, the other hand still scratching the dog’s head, and he shuffled through the names that came to mind, shaking his head when one didn’t match the lovable furball sitting before him. Then he snapped his fingers, the dog’s eyes and ears snapping towards the hand.

“How about Kosmo?” Lance turned to the dog before Keith could even answer him. “Hey, Kosmo,  _ Kosmo,  _ KOSmo~,” he repeated the name in increasingly higher voices, and the dog ate it up, licking Lance’s face in his excitement.

“I guess that’s settled,” Keith chuckled, shifting his position and the dog--now named Kosmo-- seemed to just notice Keith and rushed over to him, placing his front paws on Keith’s lap. Keith obliged her with belly rubs, sarcastically thanking Kosmo when he received licks to the face as thanks. Lance chuckled at him.

“I never pegged you as a dog-person.”

Keith shrugged. “I never considered myself a pet-person to begin with, but I just couldn’t pass this one by.” 

“Why’s that?” Lance asked in a tone that let Keith know he didn’t have to answer if he didn’t want to.

Keith shrugged, though it wasn’t dismissive, more shy. “I don’t know, I guess I could relate to how he had no place to go, no one to take care of him.” 

Lance softened, remembering Keith was a foster kid. His heart panged in his chest when he thought of Keith in the dog’s place, alone and drifting. “Well, he sure looks happy now. He’s lucky to have you.” Keith’s face twisted and he looked like he was about to object, but Lance cut him off. “But he would be even luckier to have me!”

Keith scoffed, forgetting about whatever self-deprecating thing he was going to say in favor of arguing with Lance. The argument ended with them on opposite side of the room calling Kosmo’s name and her choosing Keith no matter how many times Lance said her name. Really, there had been no competition, Kosmo immediately following Keith. 

“He just doesn’t know me yet. Soon she’ll see how awesome I am!” Lance argued, settling back onto the couch. 

“Sure, Lance,” Keith smiled. 

They passed the rest of their time with Lance recounting various tales (that were totally true) that proved how awesome he is while an amused Keith listened, adding his own comment here and there. Neither stopped smile once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: The bit with the dog 'Thor' was based on my actual dog, who did in fact cause the china to rattle when he ran around the house. And before you ask, no we did not get another named Loki, but our neighbors up the street did. Sadly, they never got to meet.  
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed this. Sorry it's been a while, but college has been keeping me busy, as many of you are probably experiencing with school. But, I do hope to have another chapter out for Halloween, so we'll see how that goes! Can't wait for Arlo and Caspian's costumes, as well as the rest of the gang! Feel free to comment what costumes you can see the gang in, I would enjoy reading those immensely haha (and maybe even take some inspiration from them)!


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the Halloween special I promised! Shorter than usual, but still the usual fluff. Enjoy!

It was the week of Halloween, meaning Lance would be busy all week with decorating the house, retrieving costumes for himself and the kids, and of course, the tradition of visiting one spooky place per night with Hunk and Pidge, as well as Keith now, who had accepted their invitation to join them. The others joined on the nights they could.

The first night everyone had carved pumpkins together, though Lance spent most of his time helping Arlo, and Hunk helped Caspian. Then they submitted them to the town for the pumpkin walk, which they toured the next night, Lance taking plenty of photos of their groups’ pumpkins, which stacked to form an awesome robot. 

They had visited a cemetary tour another night, where Hunk had stuck to Lance’s side the entire time and Lance absolutely did not return the favor, pssh. That barred owl hadn’t startled him at all, he knew it was there the whole time. 

And tonight, the day before Halloween, they were going to a haunted house, Shiro, Allura, and Coran joining them too. Shay had volunteered to watch the kids, saying she wasn’t really a fan of haunted houses anyway. Lance wished he could say that too, but Pidge would just force him to go anyway, and they had plenty of blackmail to do so.

Lance gulped as he stared up at the big house while they waited in line to get in. The windows were boarded, so no light would get inside and ruin the surprises awaiting his arrival, and it’s front yard was decorated with gravestones and dry ice machines, so there was an eerie glow surrounding the house in the light of the full moon. The screams of those already inside could be heard and each time Hunk would jump and Lance’s hair stand on end, but he hugged himself tight and clenched his jaw so he wouldn’t scream in front of Keith. He side-eyed the dark haired man, who looked completely calm, shoulders relaxed and hands stuffed in his pockets-- the picture of chill, and Lance was envious. 

It wasn’t long before they were at the front of the line, waiting to be let in, but Lance quickly realized he was at the front of the pack.

“Hold on, I am  _ not  _ going first,” he loudly exclaimed, voice pitched higher than usual. 

“Why? Are you scared?” A voice sniped, and Lance raised a hand, about to simply answer ‘yes’ when he realized it was Keith who had spoken. 

Lance clamped his mouth shut, eyes tracing the smirk Keith was wearing, and cursed it then himself for being so weak.

“N-no, I’m just being practical. Pidge should be in front since she is the smallest.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow, about to make a snarky comment back, but Keith beat her to it.

“Sounds like an excuse to me.”

“Keith Kogane, I do not make excuses,” Lance retorted, struggling to keep his voice level.

“Okay, then stay in front.”

“Why don’t you want to be in front, huh?”

“I have no problem being in the front, but I’m not the one complaining.” Keith crossed his arms and wrinkled his nose, and Lance tried not to melt.

“I am not complaining! And if you want to be in the front so badly, I will gladly step back.”

They continued to go back and forth, everyone else looking on and rolling their eyes, though each had a fond smile on their lips. This was becoming a regular occurrence between the pair whenever they hung out, and even when they didn’t. Shiro has listened to many rants Keith has given about how ‘infuriating’ Lance is, and Allura and Hunk have heard plenty of Lance’s rants about Keith. It was cute, but no one dared to tell them that.

Finally, Pidge stepped forward and cleared her throat. “How about we have a competition. Both of you will be in the front and we’ll see who gets scared the most.”

“No!” Lance said at the same time Keith shrugged and said, “sure.”

But before they could discuss this anymore, their tour guide stepped forward to collect their tickets and take them into the house. Lance gulped, but quickly straightened, matching Keith’s confident posture.

“You are so gonna lose,” Lance hissed as they stepped over the threshold.

As they rounded the first corner, a clown jumped out, maniacal laughter echoing in the hall, and Lance screamed a prayer in Spanish, then cursed after the clown as they ran off. Keith was trying to hide his laughter behind a hand, but Lance smacked him upside the head anyway. 

“That one didn’t count. I wasn’t ready,” Lance grumbled and Keith chuckled out ‘sure.’

Lance didn’t do much better after that. He squealed when a hand grabbed his ankle in a pitch black room, then again when a burst of air blew over him as he exited the same room. A man with a chainsaw had chased him down a hallway, yelling out how he was going to cut Lance up into pieces and feed him to his pigs, which Lance had let loose a string of Spanish prayers and obscenities in response-- he spoke rapid Spanish when he was stressed. 

At some point, he had latched onto Keith’s arm and refused to let go, staying so close that his entire side was pressed against Keith. One of his hands was squeezing Keith’s probably hard enough to cut off the blood circulation, though Keith didn’t say anything, only returning the squeezes, which Lance found reassuring. 

They entered the final room-- _ finally _ , Lance had thought-- where another guide stepped forward and said they would take a group photo now, so Lance assumed it was safe to detach himself from Keith with an awkward cough. He met Hunk’s dilated eyes and they nodded to each other, letting the other know that they were good and had survived. Lance had been too scared to pay any attention to the others behind him, the only sound he had heard was the blood rushing through his ears and his own rapid heartbeat. 

“Okay, on three,” the guide said, raising the phone to take their photo. They all took up their positions, smiling wide for the camera. 

“One, two, three!”

Lance screamed. Lance has never screamed louder. Because on three, something grabbed him from behind and he has never been so sure that death had come for him. He said as much in response to the other’s teasing once they were back outside, the cooling air clearing Lance’s haze of fear.

“You’re so dramatic,” Pidge snorted. “But it totally makes for a great picture.”

She snickered and held up the picture. Lance snatched it up and peered at it, eyes first falling on himself, his limbs splayed every which way in surprise as his fight-or-flight instincts kicked in. He had a hand gripping Keith’s hair, and he winced.

“Sorry,” he shot an apologetic smile at Keith. “I didn’t mean to almost rip your mullet off, I swear.”

Keith stepped in close to look at the picture too, snorting at it. 

“It’s fine. I was surprised too, so it didn’t really register until afterwards.”

Lance’s eyes drifted back to the picture, trailing over everyone else. Hunk was staring at him in horror, practically eating his entire fist, his other hand grasping Pidge’s shoulder. The gremlin was staring stone-faced at the camera, chaos all around her. Honestly, what was Lance expecting. Coran was executing some karate move at his own attacker, and Allura was swinging a fist. Luckily, she wasn’t even close to her target, so the poor actor escaped with all their teeth. And Shiro and Matt had their faces buried in Allura’s hair. 

It was a great photo, one that would be going on his nightstand back home, but no way was he letting Pidge talk him into coming back next year.

 

***

 

Lance sighed as he stepped inside the Shirogane’s household, Caspian and Arlo immediately running off. It had been a long day, a majority of it spent trying to get the kids (and himself) into their costumes, and then have them sit still long enough for Lance to do their necessary make-up and hair. But it had been worth it, their costumes look great. Caspian had wanted to be a  _ vampire  _ bat, not any other kind of bat, and he was persistent on having flexible wings that he could wrap around himself. Luckily Lance had found some, and Caspian would flap them as he walked, a happy smile on his face. Arlo was his favorite superhero from his favorite television show, and he liked to run and watch his cape billow behind him, though Lance had to stop him from running into walls more than once. He had failed to once, but Arlo bounced back up and began punching the wall, acting like it was his arch nemesis. Yes, Lance had a video.

Lance paused when he entered the living room, eyes zeroing in on Keith, who was sunk into the couch, looking as he always did. Lance usually didn’t complain, but this was unacceptable. No costume on Halloween? Lance was going to have to change that, so he marched up to Keith, stopping in front of him with his hands on his hips. He hoped the effect wasn’t ruined by his shimmering mermaid tail and make-up.

“Keith? Where’s your costume?” Lance said in disappointment, a wave of satisfaction rising in him when Keith’s expression turned guilty.

“Uh, I don’t have one?” Keith said sheepishly, eyes roving over Lance’s own costume.

“No no no, that won’t do.” Lance glanced at the clock. “We have an hour to put something together for you. Let’s go.”

“What- Lance?” 

“Ah bup bup,” Lance shushed him. “We don’t take Halloween lightly around here. And you’re lucky I beat Pidge here. She goes all out and you don’t want to know what she would have to say if she saw you costumeless.” Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and pulled him off the couch, already heading for the basement where he knew Allura kept all their previous Halloween costumes. There had to be something down there. 

“And you don’t want to disappoint the kids, do you?”

A look of fear shot across Keith’s face, then settled into one of guilt. “Sorry, I, uh, just never really got into Halloween,” Keith said quietly. “I was pretty old when the Shirogane’s took me in and all the other kids my age laughed at trick-or-treating, so I never really had a reason or motivation to dress up.”

Lance frowned, but shook away his pity. Keith wouldn’t want it anyway, that’s not why he was telling Lance this.

“No worries, my man! We’ll get you into the Halloween spirit soon enough! Now let’s see what costume we can find!”

Forty-five minutes later, Keith stood in the middle of the floor with a frown on his face and shoulders hunched. A wine cloak draped over his shoulders, it’s large collar slightly rumpled, and his teeth bared slightly as he adjusted to the fake teeth Lance was forcing him to wear. 

“Come on, you look great! All thanks to me!” Lance exclaimed, examining Keith whilst tapping his chin. Something was missing.

Lance snapped his fingers, and stepped towards Keith, pulling a hair-tie from his wrist--he always kept one or two handy in case Caspian needed it-- and carded his fingers through Keith’s hair, trying not to think too hard about it. Keith made a noise at the back of his throat, but Lance took it as an exclamation of surprise and continued his work until Keith’s hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. Perfect. 

Lance stepped back and gazed at his work, glad he had an excuse to stare at Keith. He had done a pretty great job of transforming Keith into a vampire if he said so himself, the yellow contacts the icing on the cake, and man did he want a piece of that cake. 

“I feel stupid. A vampire is not original at all.”

Lance waved him off. “It doesn’t matter how original your costume is. It’s just fun to dress up!”

Keith’s shoulders settled, his expression becoming more confident, and Lance smiled. He was going to make sure Keith has fun tonight. 

“Come on, the kids are probably looking for you to show off their costumes.” 

As soon as they entered the living room, they were rushed by a bat, a superhero, and a dragon. The three wrapped around Lance’s legs and he toppled over, admitting his defeat. He commented on Stella’s dragon costume but she only replied by blowing fire (read: red and orange ribbons on a stick) in his face. They mercifully let him back on his feet, and Lance adjusted his tail, glancing over to find Caspian and Keith in a staring march, Keith looking mildly uncomfortable under Caspian’s unblinking gaze.

“Keith’s a vampire,” Lance supplied helpfully, knowing that was the question running through Caspian’s mind. Keith relaxed when Caspian smiled. “Why don’t you tell Keith what you are?”

“I’m a vampire bat!” Caspian chirped happily, flapping his wings. “And I only drink blood!” 

As creepy as that statement was on its own, coming from Caspian’s mouth made Lance want to coo; no one could possibly say blood as cute as Caspian just had.

“Are vampire’s bad guys?” Arlo came up beside his brother. 

“Well, they can be--”

Arlo let out a battle cry and launched himself at Keith, and he was quickly joined by Stella, who was always too eager to get involved in causing trouble. Caspian remained beside Lance, repeating the same three facts he knew about vampire bats to him, but he eventually pranced away to find sneak some candy no doubt--he had mentioned doing that to Lance earlier-- ignoring the scuffle before him. 

Lance watched with a smile as Keith got into character, wrestling with the kids though always being careful with his attacks so no one would get hurt. He finally submitted to them, trapping them against his chest once more when they climbed on top of him. They squealed and wriggled out of his grip, running off with a new mission. 

Lance helped Keith up off the floor, chuckling at his ruffled appearance and flicking a strand of hair out of his face unconsciously. He was constantly doing that to Caspian and now he was doing it to Keith. Lance felt his face heat up but he didn’t mention it, hoping Keith wouldn’t either, and quickly moved on, exclaiming he needed a drink, Keith hurriedly agreeing. 

He greeted Allura and Shiro as he entered the kitchen, taking in their costumes gleefully. Allura was an archer, her silver armor making her look ethereal, and Shiro was a knight in matching armor, though where Allura had a pink cape, he had a black velvet one. Lance chuckled when their little dragon popped up between them, grabbing at the snacks spread out on the table.

It wasn’t long before the others arrived, Hunk and Shay the first and dressed in the cutest couples costume Lance could think of-- a honeypot (aka Hunk) and a bee (aka Shay). It was perfect for them! Coran came next, sporting a grease stained coverall and a toolbox.

“Did someone call the Coranic?” He exclaimed while twirling his mustache. Everyone chuckled at his pun, to which the man looked very pleased about. 

And finally, the Holt siblings and Romelle arrived together in quite a dramatic fashion, meaning they were having a lightsaber fight. Well, Matt and Pidge were, but no one expected anything less from the siblings. Romelle was in an extravagant ensemble, and it was clear she was meant to be Queen Amidala. Her golden locks were even twisted in an alien updo and everyone fawned over her as she stepped around the fight, which didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Her dress was really quite something to behold, and it was no surprise that Romelle had sewn it herself, though when she had had that kind of time Lance wasn’t sure. She had also helped with Matt and Pidge’s costumes, Matt in a classic Jedi get-up with a brown robe, and Pidge outfitted in dark robes, meaning she was a sith-- no surprise there.

Their attention turned back to the fight at hand, and Lance was impressed by the moves executed by the Holts, though not surprised. They had probably been training for this moment for years, like the nerds they are. Finally, the lightsaber fight ended when the kids grew interested in it, and then it turned into the Holt’s goading the kids to join their team.

“Come to the dark side, Arlo, we have Hunk’s chocolate chunk cookies!” Pidge said in a gruff voice, reaching out a gloved hand.

“Choc-y cookies?” Arlo stopped in his tracks, staring at Pidge with wide eyes. Then toddled over to her, making grabby hands at her and chanting ‘choc-y cookies,’ which caught the attention of the other two kids. She was soon buried under a pile a wriggling and squealing kids.

“Looks like I have the high ground-- though I suppose I already did!” Pidge mumbled something but Lance couldn’t catch it. Matt just cackled. “Good work padawans!”

Leaving Pidge to fend for herself, Matt approached the snacks, greeting everyone in turn. Pidge eventually freed herself, climbing into a chair beside Romelle and Lance, her hair more unruly than unusual, though she had a wide smile on her face. She reached for a plate of cookies, though when she couldn’t quite reach them, she growled.

“I think you’re a little short to be a stormtrooper,” Lance joked, laughing harder when Pidge started to explain that she was not in fact a stormtrooper, only to remember Lance has marathoned those movies with her many times, so he knew better. 

“I can and will use this,” Pidge replied, holding up her lightsaber.

Matt stepped forward to push the plate towards her, but not without saying, “I wanted her to be an Ewok. but she wasn’t having it.”

“Aw, Pidge, that would have been so cute!” Lance cooed, yelping when he received a wack in response. 

The evening passed quickly after that, the kids running between legs while the adults flitted around to chat with one another. The atmosphere was warm despite the cool air outside, and Lance had never felt more at home. He was giddy when he noticed that Keith seemed to stay near throughout the night, always at his elbow when he turned around, whether it was intentional or not Lance wasn’t sure, but he liked to think it was. 

Finally, it was time for trick-or-treating, which was announced by the kids who ran into the room screaming ‘it’s time!’ Lance retrieved the glow-in-the-dark necklaces that would help him keep track of his little tykes, and wore one himself, in case they needed to find him. Then he passed them their pumpkin bags that their candy would go in, and once everyone else was ready to go, followed them out the door. The kids quickly took the lead, skipping around and running from house to house, excited by the candy slowly filling their bags. Some of the adults would offer candy to Lance and Shiro, who were usually the ones following the kids up to the houses, and they would happily take a piece; they needed the energy to keep up with the kids. Lance offered his kit-kat to Keith--a truly noble gesture in Lance’s eyes-- when he came back from one such house, and Keith took it with a smile, so it was worth it. 

Matt and Pidge started up another lightsaber fight when they spotted a kid dressed as Darth Vader, both defeated when the kid raised their hand to do the force chokehold. And Lance pointed out all the costumes he found cute to Keith, which was almost every costume he saw, but he always ended those statements with, “but Caspian and Arlo are cuter,” as you do. Keith would nod along, humor in his eyes, but Lance never noticed, to caught up in his excited ramblings. Keith thinks he’s going to like Halloween now. 

By the time trick-or-treating was over, the kids had filled their bags, which Keith was now carrying, and they were thoroughly tuckered out, whining to be carried on the walk home. Lance couldn’t say no to his munchkins, so he was carrying both of them home. Arlo kept giggling, and Lance turned around to see Hunk and Shay making silly faces at the twins; he chuckled, and was reminded that he was so lucky to have these people for family. 

They returned to the Shirogane’s house and put on the Nightmare Before Christmas for the kids, but most of the adults sat down to watch as well. Lance usually sung along to every song, but he was exhausted and, he would never admit it, but was on the verge of falling asleep. In his defense though, Shiro was already snoring on the couch beside him. Pidge was stretched out across the two, wide awake but on her phone, and Keith, on Lance’s other side, was totally captured by the movie, just like the kids.  _ Cute _ .

Lance didn’t do much else for the rest of the night because he fell asleep, only to be woken up by Keith at the end of the movie.

“Lance, is this a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie?”

Lance only groaned in response. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you liked it! College has been SO busy for me, so writing has been a bit difficult, but I'm glad I managed to get this out. Hope all your guys' Halloweens were fun and you got to eat your favorite candies! Stay safe and take care until next time!


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter break is here; I'm free to write again!

Lance sighed as he felt the muscles in his back stretch as he went into downward dog; Allura and him have been doing yoga together for a couple months now and Lance always found himself feeling better afterwards. In the warmer months, they would go to the park to do their routine, but as it grew cooler they retreated to their houses, taking turns at each house every week; however, it wouldn’t be long before Allura would have to postpone their yoga routine until after she has her baby, the bump already affecting her flexibility. But today, they were at Allura’s in the middle of her living room. Shiro was occupying Stella outside with a leaf pile, her squeals audible even over the soothing music they had playing from Allura’s phone.

Lance distantly heard the front door open and close, but paid it no mind until he there was a thud and a squeak from behind them. Lance twisted around to find Keith holding his hip and glaring at the table beside the entryway, then his indigo eyes raised to meet Lance’s and they widened before quickly glancing away. Lance smirked and definitely _didn’t_ stretch his body some more in case Keith wanted to sneak some more glances.

“Good morning, hotshot!” Lance crowed, returning to a pose that stretched his shoulders while also giving Keith the perfect view of Lance’s backside in his yoga pants.

Keith grumbled something unintelligible and Lance smirked, knowing he was triumphant. He opened his mouth to call out to Keith again, but Allura came to the other man’s rescue.

“Shiro and Stella are out back, _cleaning_ up the yard, though I’m sure it’s just as disorderly as it was when they started, perhaps even more so,” Allura chuckled, switching positions simultaneously with Lance.

Keith only nodded before hurrying outside, the door slamming a little too hard behind him. Lance and Allura started to cackle, dropping their poses as their arms could no longer hold them up.

“You are evil,” Allura giggled.

“Hey, when life gives you lemons,” Lance shrugged, then smirked. “Besides, isn’t this how you got Shiro’s attention?”

“I regret telling you that story. I blame the sangria, or maybe it was the margaritas.”

The two dissolved into laughter once more, then moved on to their cooling-down poses, ending their routine and putting the living room back together having had to clear some space to make room.

Just as they finished, Stella ran back inside, leaves clinging to her coat and hair, Shiro and Keith chasing after her in a similar disheveled state. Keith paused when he met Lance’s gaze, face heating and he quickly returned to chasing Stella. Shiro remained behind, watching the two run off in amusement before turning back to Allura and Lance, crossing his arms.

“Alright, what did you two do to my brother? His face was as red as Coran’s mustache when he came out and had a glazed look in his eyes until Stella dumped some leaves on him.”

Allura and Lance glanced at each other, then shrugged. “Yoga,” they replied at the same time.

Shiro just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Right. Yoga. Allura’s idea?”

“I may or may not have been inspired by a specific story she told me one night.” Lance shrugged innocently, ignoring the way Shiro’s cheeks heated a bit.

Shiro cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, dislodging the leaves in it. “Come on then, let’s go see what those two are up to. They’re unusually quiet all of a sudden.”

Lance and Allura followed Shiro down the hall, glancing into each room in their search for Keith and Stella. They found them in the bathroom, Stella standing on the lid of the toilet while Keith sat on the floor so Stella could reach his hair. She already had his bangs in a water spout, and was currently practicing her braiding it seemed. Allura snapped some pictures before they noticed, and promised to send them to Lance.

“Looking good, Mullet! Keep up the good work, Stell, he’s already looking better.”

“Keith has a date,” Stella said as an explanation, and Lance raised an eyebrow.

“Is that so?”

“No! I don’t- she’s just-” Keith stuttered, eyes wide with panic.

“Who’s the lucky guy?” Lance winked at Keith, but he was addressing Stella, who hummed as she thought out her answer.

Then she stared Lance directly in the eye and said, “You.”

Lance choked on his spit in surprise. He could feel his neck grow hot and he rubbed it nervously. Man, kids were oddly telepathic at times.

“And it’s going to be a tea party. Everyone’s invited,” Stella continued nonchalantly, seeming to not completely understand what a ‘date’ entailed.

“Even Mr. Wiggles?” Lance said hopefully as he regained his footing.

“Yes. Mr. Wiggles is invited to every party because he is a superhero,” Stella said seriously, talking about the teddy bear Lance had gifted her on her birthday. “Mom, can we have some tea?” Stella now addressed Allura, who smiled widely and nodded, turning away to put the kettle on.

Shiro remained, leaning up against the door frame, seeming to have a silent conversation with Keith before taking his own leave, a satisfied smirk on his face. Keith kept glaring at the tiles that made up the bathroom floor.

Once Stella finally declared Keith ready-- his hair pulled in all different directions-- the tea was ready and they quickly arranged Stella’s room with pillows on the floor for them to sit on. Mr. Wiggles received the biggest pillow.

That was the only complaint Lance had with the whole affair, except maybe he wished this counted as an actual date with Keith, who mostly avoided his eyes the entire time, though Lance blamed the yoga incident for the shyness. But Lance was nothing if not persistent.

 

***

The kids were at preschool today, and the reason Lance wasn’t at the school either was because he had caught something. His head was foggy, his nose would not stop running, and his throat was always dry no matter how much water he chugged. At least he didn’t have a fever, but he took a sick day to recollect himself. Problem was, someone was currently pounding on his door while he was trying to sleep.

With a groan he rolled out of bed and trudged to the front door, not caring if he had horrendous bedhead, and threw the door open with what he hoped was a murderous glare.

“Uh, I brought you doughnuts?” Keith held the box up in front of him sheepishly, and Lance blinked in surprise, then his body fell limp as the tension seeped out of him.

“Thanks, Mullet,” Lance smiled softly, running a hand through his hair.

“Hunk sent me. I was already at the bakery when he got your message, so it wasn’t my idea. He’s the one you should thank.”

“But you still brought it to me.” Lance stepped aside, extending an invitation for Keith to come inside.

He led Keith into the kitchen, motioning for him to sit at the table while Lance poured them some juice, remembering Keith mentioning he’s lactose intolerant at one point. Lance nearly squealed when he opened the pastry box, spotting his favorites stacked inside and he briefly wondered why he didn’t marry Hunk. He heard Keith snort beside him and Lance quickly remembered the answer to that question.

“Are you just going to stare or are you actually going to eat them?”

“Hey, these are works of art! I’m just appreciating their beauty,” Lance protested, and snagged a blueberry cake doughnut off the top, taking a bite and chewing dramatically in retaliation. Keith just stared at him with that infuriatingly handsome smirk of his.

“You gonna eat one or just watch me eat this entire box?”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “You? Eat that entire box?”

“Don’t underestimate me, hotshot! Watch me.”

“Lance, no. You’ll just make yourself even sicker if you do that.” Keith plucked the second doughnut from Lance’s grasp and took a bite out of it, never breaking eye contact.

Lance wasn’t sure if he was scandalized or turned on right now, so he just stuffed his mouth full of doughnut so he wouldn’t have to reply. The two finished eating in silence, Lance hiding away the rest of the doughnuts so the kids wouldn’t be able to get into them. Once that was done, he turned to find Keith standing awkwardly in the middle of his kitchen, glancing around like this was his first time here.

“Uh, I guess I should head out.” Lance tried not to let the shot of disappointment those words brought flash across his face. He had actually forgotten why he had stayed home today during his time with Keith.

“Oh, well, you’re welcome to stay if you want. I wasn’t doing anything important besides counting the number of tissues next to my bed.” Lance offered a lopsided grin and Keith returned it.

The corner of Keith’s lips lifted and he gave a curt nod. “But if you get me sick, I’m never visiting you again.”

Lance gave a scandalous gasp, guiding Keith into the living room; however, he sat on the other end of the couch from Keith just in case there was some truth in those words. But that ended up being futile because after an hour of talking about a variety of topics, Lance had shifted to sprawl across half the couch, head almost touching Keith’s legs.

“You know, I should write that book: ‘Weird Shit Kids Say.’ Yeah, I can see it now. It’ll be a hit!” Lance said animatedly, arms flailing wildly.

“That probably already exists.” Keith was the picture of chill, arms crossed and eyebrow raised as he glanced down at Lance in amusement.

“But no one has read the Lancey Lance version. My kids have said some very creepy shit.”

Keith chuckled and shook his head. “Whatever you say, Lance.”

“You don’t believe me?” Lance sat up suddenly, squaring up to Keith, their knees knocking together, and raised his fingers to count off of.

“When I close my eyes, I see people dancing on my eyelids.”

“Life keeps you from seeing the truth, but death sets you free.”

“‘You smell like peanut butter.’ Arlo said that one in his sleep.”

“‘I will avenge my past selves, who died so I could live!’ That was Stella, and she had raised her plastic sword in the air when she said that.”

“Can I have three of your teeth?”

“You’re eyes are too pretty. I am going to take them so I can look at them all day.”

“Keith is a loser and so is his hair.”

“The only kid who would say that is you, Lance,” Keith deadpanned, but his lips quirked at the corners.

“Okay, I admit that one was me, but all the others are legit!”

“Alright, I get it. Kids are weird and so are you.” Lance squawked and punched Keith’s shoulder, but the man looked too pleased with himself to care.

“You’ll see, Mullet. Stick around long enough and Caspian or Arlo is going to say something that will make you pause and think, ‘huh, Lance was right’.”

Keith snorted and ducked his head, his bangs obscuring his eyes and making Lance’s fingers twitch as he fought against the instinct to brush them away. Lance knew exactly what he had implied with that statement, and hoped Keith got the message that Lance wanted him to stay close. He wasn’t sure what he would do if Keith left, so much of his time was spent thinking about Keith, and not even in a dirty way, just wondering what Keith was doing at a certain moment, or what his favorite color was, or if he would like that Indian cuisine place in town. He just wanted to get to know Keith better, always had since he first met eyes with him at the Shirogane’s home.

Lance glanced over at Keith, seeing a soft smile still on his lips, gaze on his hands in his lap, and Lance had a realization. Keith was here with him now; he could get to know more of him now.

“Hey, wanna play 20 questions?”

Keith raised his piercing gaze back to Lance, and nodded. “Sure.”

They didn’t stop after twenty questions, in fact, they didn’t stop until Coran arrived to drop off the boys, who were amazed to find Keith on their couch.

***

 

Lance danced around the kitchen, smile never leaving his face, because today was the day he was cooking for Keith and Stella. He was reminded of his offer last night when Keith mentioned he was watching Stella, and Lance had jumped at the chance to have them over for dinner. And they would be here any minute now. Just him and Keith, and the kids. Lance increased his pace around the kitchen, making sure he had everything set up. He decided he was going to show Keith how to make Ropa Vieja, a type of shredded beef, to build his culinary knowledge, and he had all the ingredients set out. The beef was already cooked, but everything else was set out on the counter, waiting to be used.

There was a knock on the door, which prompted Caspian and Arlo to excitedly jump up from the table where they had been coloring and rush to the door, Lance following behind them, wiping off his hands on a dish towel. He couldn’t stop the wide smile that broke out on his face when he saw Keith on his doorstep, holding Stella’s hand, while the other was shoved in his pocket.

Lance immediately noticed the nice black slacks Keith had on, paired with a red flannel and a black scarf haphazardly thrown around his neck, as if that would keep the chill away. Needless to say, it was endearing and, dare he say it, cute. Lance hoped the flush on his cheeks would be explained away as caused by the heat in the kitchen, which was only about to get hotter. _God, that was so lame_ , Lance groaned internally at himself.

“Glad you guys could make it! You’re in for a treat!”

“Tio Lance, Keith wouldn’t put on his coat, so I had to throw a scarf over his head so he wouldn’t freeze!” Stella said as she stepped into the house, glaring up at Keith.

“Stella, it’s not even that cold,” Keith sighed, as if he had spent a long time trying to explain this to her.

“You did your best, Stell,” Lance smiled, and the girl puffed up proudly at the praise. “Let me take your coat and then you can run off with the boys. I’ll call when dinner is ready.”

She nodded and handed over her jacket, then skipped away with the boys at her heels. Lance chuckled and turned back to Keith.

“She’s gonna be just like her mother.”

Keith snorted. “More like her father. Shiro was always pestering me about everything growing up. ‘Keith, brush your hair!’ and ‘Keith, put your wash your face!’”

Lance laughed at Keith’s impersonation, throwing his head back and placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder to support himself.

“Oh, man. You have got to tell me your Shiro stories.” Keith opened his mouth to do so, but Lance stopped him. “After we make dinner. Can’t have the beef going cold, nor do we want ravenous beasts, aka the children, after us.”

“What’s on the menu?” Keith asked as he followed Lance into the kitchen, nose raising at the heavenly smell as they entered.

“I’m going to teach you how to make Ropa Vieja! Oh, don’t give me that hopeless look, you’ll do great! I’m a great teacher.”

“Whatever you say.” Keith glanced over the ingredients Lance had set out with fierce determination, and Lance bit his lip at how determined Keith looked. He loved how seriously Keith took everything.

“Alright, hair up, sleeves up,” Lance commanded, and Keith nodded, following those directions. Lance really liked the way Keith looked with his hair pulled up in a bun, but he tried not to focus on that at the moment.

Lance started taking Keith through the steps, first explaining how he cooked the beef before launching into the rest of the recipe. He guided Keith through each step, laughing when he spilled some spices while measuring, and ogling at Keith’s knife skills-- Keith only shrugged and replied ‘I’ve always been good with knives,’ when asked.

It wasn’t long before Lance was shredding the beef and placing the vegetables alongside it, wiping sweat from his forehead and smiling at their dish.

“Now, there’s a special way to plate this; we eat with our eyes first! Well, at least that’s what I learned from Chopped,” Lance said as he shredded the beef and placed the vegetables alongside it with the rice.

Keith snorted, but watched Lance with focused eyes, copying him as he prepared his own plate. Lance really tried to stay focused on his own plate, but he couldn’t stop to watch Keith and the way his tongue would peak out from between his lips when he focused. Lance wasn’t even sure why he was trying so hard, it’s not like this was a life or death situation, but then again that was just how Keith did things-- he gave everything his all, and it was just fucking adorable.

 _Language_. Lance chastised his thoughts then paused. Shiro was really rubbing off on him.

“Like that?” Keith’s voice broke through his thoughts. Lance glanced over at his plate and smiled.

“That is instagram worthy right there, my man! Nice job!” Keith looked very proud of himself and Lance couldn’t stop staring.

“Should we, should we call the kids?” Keith asked, eyes darting from Lance to the plate and back.

Beaver dam. He had been caught staring. Lance quickly turned around in what he hoped had been smooth, and leaned out of the kitchen.

“ _Niños!_ The food is ready! _Ven rápido!_ ” He yelled, releasing his nervous energy with it.

He returned to Keith’s side and clapped his hands, letting out a breath.

“Now, we set the table. You set the plates and I’ll grab the silverware, yeah?”

Keith nodded and got to work, as did Lance. The two danced around each other as they worked on their tasks, moving in tandem, efficiently and quickly. Lance never stopped smiling at how right this felt, which was a dangerous thought, but he allowed himself to enjoy it for the moment.

Lance heard the pattering feet of the children before he saw them, and not long after they raced into the kitchen, taking their seats and waiting patiently for Keith and Lance to finish. Lance quickly took drink orders, then finally took his place at the table, which marked the start of the meal.

There was no worries about the food growing cold as everyone ate it so fast. Keith praised Lance for the meal, but he reminded Keith that he had a hand in making it too. Keith looked like he wanted to say more on the topic, but also didn’t want to stop eating-- eating won this round.

Dinner ended quickly, no surprise there, and once the dishes were loaded in the dishwasher, Keith and Lance plopped onto the couch with loud sighs.

“That was amazing,” Keith groaned, hand on his stomach. “I didn’t know food could taste like that.”

Lance chuckled. “Glad I could enlighten you.”

They fell into an easy silence, listening to the kids’ shouts in the other room. Surprisingly, Keith was the first to break it.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Keith suddenly whispered from beside him.

Lance turned to Keith, finding the indigo gaze already on him.

“Do what?” Lance whispered back innocently.

“This. Take care of Caspian and Arlo, cook them breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and still manage to keep your life together.”

“Well, I don’t do exactly _this_ everyday. There are plenty of times I throw a meal together in five minutes, just yesterday we had cereal for dinner. And I do not have my life together, sure more so than when I started, but I am still figuring things out every day.”

“But they’re happy. You keep them happy. And I’m sure I would be a disaster if I were in your place, so just take the compliment!” Keith said fiercely and Lance turned back to stare at him.

“Uh, thanks. That means a lot,” Lance gave him a soft smile.

“Papá!” Arlo ran into the room then and jumped in between Keith and him, effectively ending the bonding moment he and Keith were just having. “Can we have a sleepover?!”

Lance glanced at Keith, who looked at Lance and shrugged.

“Sure, bud.” Arlo cheered and jumped off the couch, running off to tell the others. Lance smirked at Keith. “You know what this means?”

“No?”

“You’re getting the Lancey-Lance sleepover experience!”

“I can’t tell if that is a good or bad thing,” Keith squinted at him, but Lance only grinned wider.

A few hours later, with Caspian spreading a coarse green goop on his face, Keith had his answer. “Bad thing, definitely a bad thing.”

“Oh, come on Keith, don’t be such a weblum.”

“Yeah, Tio Keith, don’t be such a weblum!” Stella mimicked.

“Yeah, weblum!” Arlo sounded off and Caspian right after him.

Keith’s lips twitched. “What even is a weblum?”

“Dunno.” Lance shrugged, finishing up Stella’s mask. _Dunno_ was repeated three more times after him.

“Is there an echo in here?” All the kids giggled, and Keith couldn’t stop the smile from breaking out now.

Lance counted that as a win.

Later that night, once the kids were giggling in bed, Lance had Keith tell him all his Shiro stories. They laughed late into the night.

 

***

 

This week was going to be the worst week of Lance’s life. No, Caspian or Arlo weren’t sick, and no, he wasn’t sick again. Keith was gone. Not gone forever gone, but he had left last night to go visit his mother, who lived a solid five hours away. He had reconnected with her later in his life with the help and support of the Shirogane’s, and their relationship was now as close as any other mother and son. Lance was happy for him, but it still meant that Lance would not see Keith for a whole week. At least this would be the last time Keith would have to leave to visit her, though, since he was helping her move down here permanently.

At first, he had thought nothing of it, but as the third day of not seeing Keith’s mullet passed he realized how ingrained Keith has become in his life. Luckily, he wasn’t the only one missing Keith. Kosmo seemed equally put out, always staring out the window; Keith had enlisted Lance to take care of him for the week-- and of course Lance wasn’t going to say no to Keith.

 

The kids were too excited to play with Kosmo to be sad that Keith would be gone for a week, and Lance couldn’t blame them seeing as this is technically the first time they’ve met him. Keith had given them a very  _ serious  _ mission of teaching him how to play fetch, so every day after school they would take him to the backyard to play with him. Lance had picked up various toys for Kosmo, all of which he seemed to enjoy when he wasn’t moping for Keith. At least the kids helped distract him, but once they would go to bed for the night, he’d hop up on Lance’s lap and demand to be cuddled. 

“You too, huh, boy,” Lance said as he scratched behind his ears. Lance pictured Keith doing the same thing, curling up with Kosmo on his couch at nights, idly scratching her behind the ears while he watched the television. It was too domestic for Lance to handle. 

Then Lance’s phone beeped, and a smile lit his face to see  _ Hotshot  _ spelled out across the screen. He quickly unlocked his phone to read Keith’s message.

_ I meant to text you earlier in case Kosmo was giving you problems, but my mom’s efficient and has kept us working all hours of the day. How are you guys doing?  _ <<

_ How dare you doubt my skills! You remember I’m a father of two toddlers, right? Kosmo is the perfect boy, easier than both Caspian and Arlo combined! _ >>

_ Photo sent _ >>

_ And he likes to cuddle :) _ >>

__ Wow, I’m surprised he feels that comfortable with you. It took her weeks to do that with me _ << _

_Guess I’m better_ ;)  >>

 _You wish_ <<

 _So, how was seeing your mother? For the first time in years, wow, I could not imagine that_ >>

 _It was good_ << Lance could just picture the soft smile on Keith’s face.

 _You don’t realize how much you miss someone until they come back into your life_ <<

And, oh, did Lance know that. Though he felt kinda silly when Keith has only been gone for four days.

 _What’s she like?_ >>

 _How about you meet her yourself? I’ll bring her when I come to pick up Kosmo_ << And, _Oh_ , Lance thought, a giddy feeling that had him hiding his face in Kosmo’s fur.

 _Sounds good. I’d love to_ >>

 _I bet she’s exactly like you_ >>

… <<

Lance was excited to meet Keith’s mother; however, that was quickly replaced by dread. He was meeting Keith’s _mother_. What if she hates him? Then maybe Keith will rethink his friendship with Lance. What if she doesn’t like Caspian and Arlo? Not that Lance could see anybody disliking those two angels, but his anxiety let him entertain the thought. And what if Lance offends her in some way? She’s Korean, and Lance doesn’t know anything about Korean culture besides the few things Keith has mentions, which never included things that were offensive.

The next day Lance took his worries to the only two people he knew could offer advice on his problem. Shiro and Allura quickly straightened him out, putting his anxious thoughts at rest. He was excited to meet Krolia once more.

 

A strong knock on the door signaled Keith and Krolia’s arrival, along with Kosmo’s endless barking afterwards-- Kosmo had taken it upon himself to be their guard dog once he warmed up to them-- and Lance quickly hushed him and opened the door, inviting the two inside.

He welcomed Keith back with a quick hug and pat on the back, then Keith introduced him to Krolia. She was a lithe woman, and tall, taller than Keith and himself. Her hair wasn’t unlike Keith’s, bangs that framed her face, but it was pulled back into a loose braid. She had his piercing eyes and stoic face, which didn’t give her thoughts away as she took Lance in. Lance extended his hand, plastering a smile on his face, though it began to diminish the longer she just glared at it.

 _Oh no, was this offensive?_ Lance’s anxious thoughts immediately arose once more.

“Mom, quit teasing him,” Keith spoke up, placing a reassuring hand on Lance’s shoulders.

Krolia broke into a wide smile then, and Lance felt himself breathe again. She pulled him into a quick, yet genuine, hug.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Lance. I’ve heard a lot about,” she smirked, eyes glancing around the room.

“All good things I hope,” Lance replied easily, glad that Keith had been telling his mother about him. “Welcome to my humble abode, it’s a bit untidy but that’s what happens when you’ve got two balls of energy and a dog running around.”

“Kosmo didn’t tear anything up, did he?” Keith said worriedly, glancing around as if he could tell whether something was missing.

“Of course not, he was a perfect angel, weren’t you, buddy?” Lance said, voice pitching higher as he addressed Kosmo, who wagged his tail happily.

“Good boy,” Keith smirked, crossing his arms proudly. He was promptly tackled, face attacked by Kosmo’s tongue. “Down, boy, down.”

“Keith’s a popular one with all the boys,” Lance laughed.

“Not all, just _some_ ,” Krolia corrected him with a wink. “No need to worry about competition, Lance.” Lance’s face burned, and he was thankful Keith was occupied with Kosmo.

“So, where are these little balls of energy you were talking about? I want to meet them,” Krolia smiled.

Speak and they shall appear, because at that moment they came bounding around the corner, catching sight of Keith and immediately rushing him with simultaneous cries of, “Keith!”

Keith, who had finally managed to settle Kosmo, was attacked by two toddlers then, and Lance watched with a smile as he greeted each of them in turn.

“Mister Keith, we taught Kosmo how to fetch just like you asked!” Arlo said proudly, while Caspian eagerly nodded.

“Really? Well, you’ll have to show me next time we go to the park.”

“Boys,” Lance interjected before they could get carried away talking to Keith. “This is Ms. Krolia, Keith’s mom.”

Caspian and Arlo paused, taking the woman in and eyeing her with suspicion.

“I thought Mister Keith was adopted, like us?” Caspian spoke up, voice quiet.

Krolia smiled. “He was, but I found him again later in life, so we are still friends,” she explained kindly. Lance breathed out a sigh of relief, having been unsure if that question would offend her.

“Oh, that’s good!” Caspian perked up, but still shyly moved behind Lance.

“Ms. Krolia, do you want to see my lion? His name is Fred and I think he would like you,” Arlo stepped forward, and Krolia smiled.

“Sure, lead the way.”

Lance watched in disbelief as Arlo happily chatted with Krolia as he guided her back to his room. Guess he had been worried for no reason.

“Well, I think your mom will be occupied for a while. You guys are welcome to stay for dinner,” Lance chuckled.

Keith smiled. “What’s on the menu?”

“Definitely not Nutella and waffles,” Lance joked.

The dinner table was full that night, and Lance couldn’t keep the smile off his face as Krolia told humorous stories to the kids over dinner. They were warming up to her quicker than they had Keith, and Lance couldn’t be happier. After dinner, Krolia helped him clean up and the two talked, getting to know each other better, while Keith took the kids and Kosmo out to the backyard.

“I wanted to say thank you, Lance,” Krolia said as she dried the ware.

“For what?”

“For accepting Keith so easily. I can tell it means a lot to him, even if he may never vocalize it. He’s always had a tough time fitting in, but you made it easy this time around.”

Lance smiled, ears burning at the praise, from Keith’s mother no less. “It wasn’t anything special.”

Krolia snorted quietly. “You’re a good man, Lance. I am glad I will be able to get to know you and your children more.” The two of them shared a smile, then went back to easy conversation, watching Keith and the kids through the window run around outside, seemingly playing a game of tag.

 

***

 

Lance had invited Keith on a walk with him and Caspian and Arlo, and when Keith accepted, saying he had to take Kosmo out anyway, Lance had done a little happy dance. It was a small victory, sure, but any time he could spend with Keith put him on cloud nine.

They were currently walking beside each other, shoulders occasionally brushing, while Caspian and Arlo ran ahead, Kosmo tugging on the leash to catch up with them. He had a new obsession with them ever since staying the week when Keith had been gone, and it was amusing to watch her try to herd them together.  

They walked to the park, as per usual, and the kids ran up to Keith, tugging on the sleeves of his jacket.

“Mister Keith, can we play fetch with Kosmo?”

“We have to show you that we completed the mission you gave us!” Arlo said excitedly.

Keith chuckled and dropped Kosmo’s leash; Lance retrieved the squeaky ball from his pocket and passed it to Arlo. Kosmo’s ears perked up when Arlo squeezed it, a resounding squeak emitted in response. He jumped up and tried to get the ball from his grasp, licking his face in the process, and he giggled, holding it high in an attempt to keep it away from him.

“Kosmo, sit,” Caspian commanded, stomping his foot on the ground. He turned awe-filled eyes on Keith and Lance when he obeyed, tail wagging and tongue lolling out of his mouth. “Mister Keith, I did it just like you and it worked.”

Lance’s heart swelled and he heard Keith take in a sharp breath of air.

“Good job, bud.” He ruffled Caspian’s hair. “Now, Arlo, let’s see this trick you taught him.”

Arlo nodded seriously and wound up to throw the ball, making sure Kosmo had his eyes on it first. Then he launched it across the field, turning to Kosmo and yelling, “Go get it!”

Kosmo promptly took off, kicking up some grass in the process, and Lance had to jump back to escape being smacked by the leash still attached to him.

It was only seconds before he was prancing back towards them, biting the rubber ball happily, its squeaks making a sort of victory song. He dropped it at Arlo’s feet, who puffed out his chest and looked proudly at Keith, who genuinely looked at a loss for words.

“I’ve tried so many times. What do you do differently,” the man whispered, so only Lance heard him.

“You’ve made him speechless, guys. Good work!” Lance jumped in, giving the two a high five who hopped around giddily at their success.

Kosmo barked at their celebration and Caspian and Arlo started to imitate him, adding in some howls that had Kosmo responding with his own; it was an adorable display of call and response, and Caspian and Arlo were living it up.

Keith seemed to recover and smiled at the scene, chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief.

“Those two are something special,” he chuckled fondly.

Lance smiled, voice caught in his throat at the fond expression Keith was directing towards his children. But he happily remained quiet, not wanting to ruin this moment. However, it had to end sometime, and that was when the rubber ball, now covered in slobber, hit Lance in the neck. He let out a surprised yelp, his hands automatically flying up to catch it against his chest, but then he was being tackled by fifty pounds of fur. He groaned on the ground, glaring up at Kosmo, though it held no heat.

“Sorry, papa,” Arlo said sheepishly, peering down at Lance.

“No worries, my little lion, nothing your papa can’t handle. Just make sure to throw the ball away from people, not at people, okay?” Arlo nodded seriously.

Then Caspian bounced up beside him, picking up the ball that Lance had dropped when he was tackled and threw it, Kosmo bounding after it, pushing all the breath out of Lance’s lungs.

“Great throw, Cas,” he wheezed, shooting him a thumbs up.

Keith helped him to his feet, lips pulled into an amused grin, seemingly trying to hide it but failing miserably.

“Yeah, yeah, Mullet, laugh it up.” And Keith did, he finally let out the laughter that had been building in his throat, and Lance just stared. This man was beautiful.

The moment was interrupted by Arlo tugging at his pant leg. “Papa, I have to go to the bathroom.” Lance sighed.

“Okay, bud. It’s right across the street.” He turned to Keith. “Do you mind watching Caspian while I run this guy over there?”

“I got it,” Keith assured him, gaze locking onto where Caspian was bending down to inspect Kosmos’ tail, which would hit him in the face every time he moved it, but he would only smile before trying to grab it again, thus creating a never ending cycle of grab, smack, smile, repeat.

When Lance returned with Arlo on his hip, he found Keith instructing Caspian on the different commands Kosmo knew. They were currently on _heel_ , and it was a comical sight to see a toddler walking a dog that was larger than them, nevertheless, Kosmo seemed to obey and that thrilled Caspian.

“I want to try!” Arlo shouted, wiggling out of Lance’s arms and dashing over to them.

Lance remained where he was, satisfied in watching his kids interact with Keith and Kosmo. He could get used to this.

Once the boys had gone through every command Kosmo knew, they ran off to the park, and Keith joined Lance on the bench to watch them, Kosmo chewing on a stick he had retrieved on their walk over at their feet.

“How’s Krolia doing in her new place?” Lance asked, genuinely curious.

“She loves it. Never had a problem in the past with moving around, but I think this town is her favorite so far,” Keith smiles. “And she wanted me to let you know that anytime you need a babysitter, give her a call. She adores Caspian and Arlo; hasn’t stopped talking about them.” Keith chuckled and Lance did too.

He had been worried that his kids had come off too strong for her, that they would scare her off, and consequently, Keith, but of course that was only Lance’s anxieties talking because the exact opposite happened. Krolia was so taken in by the kids, and they with her. According to Caspian and Arlo she tells the best stories.

“They haven’t stopped talking about her either,” Lance chuckled. “They’re so curious about her; it’s cute. I’m glad we got to meet her, and will be seeing more of her now. Give her my number so I can send her cute pictures of the kids.

“She’d love that,” Keith smiled.

They were then pulled away to push the twins on the swings, and as usual, it was a competition on who could get the highest. Afterwards, they were tuckered out and ready for a nap, whining for Lance to carry them. Thankfully, Keith offered to carry one, so Lance’s arms wouldn’t fall off during the walk home. Caspian readily threw himself at Keith, who chuckled and lifted the boy, settling him on his hips with one arm wrapped around his back and the other holding Kosmo’s leash. Arlo settled himself into Lance’s neck, his breath evenly out halfway home. He glanced over at Keith and found him in a similar situation, Caspian’s hand gripping Keith’s shirt tightly. Keith looked tense, eyes flicking down to Caspian constantly, like he was afraid of waking the boy with his movements. Lance huffed fondly.

“Don’t worry about waking him, he sleeps like the dead, they both do. You’ll only give yourself a stiff back by remaining tense.” Keith nodded, and slowly relaxed his shoulders, smiling when Caspian remained asleep.

They passed the rest of the walk in light conversation, and Lance made Keith laugh a total of five times-- a lot giving the walk was only a mile. Lance would never tire of that laugh, how Keith always tried to contain it until he couldn't any longer, and the way his face lit up with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it! These past two months have flown by and I just can't believe the year is almost over! I also can't believe that Voltron is over! *wipes tears* It will be missed. The only thing I'm going to say about season 8 is that I enjoyed it immensely; it made me laugh, cry, and it was quite the journey! We had some good material this season. (Also, arm wrestling champion Shiro will make an appearance bc I enjoyed that way too much!) Thanks for reading and until next time, stay safe and take care! If you wanna chat about season 8, this fic, or whatever else, hit me up on tumblr! ImYourCardiganAngel is my username (I would put a link, but I'm still unsure how to do that exactly


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you to all of you reading this and those who comment and leave kudos! I wasn't sure how long this fic was going to be, and I still don't, but you guys are the reason I'm still writing this. I appreciate and listen to you guys, so if there's anything you want to see more of, let me know! Enjoy!

Lance has never felt warmer. He was currently curled up on Keith’s couch wrapped in two comforters and one Kosmo. Why was he on Keith’s couch, you may ask? Well, he had convinced Keith to have a movie night with him every Saturday night, so they could watch their favorite classics. These days provided him with an excuse to spend more time with Keith alone, a bonding moment if you will. It also gave him the excuse to come over to Keith’s apartment, a place that was familiar yet not to the point monotony, a break from the normal routine that provided him with a breath of fresh air. He was always discovering something new about Keith’s apartment every time he came over. For example, tonight he learned that Keith kept a mass collection of hair ties in a drawer under the bathroom sink.

Keith’s apartment was looking more lived in now, not the shell of an apartment it had been on Lance’s first visit. Their takeout containers were spread across the coffee table, more picture frames decorated the surfaces, and the couch pillows were scattered across the floor after their impromptu pillow fight when Lance had tried to keep Keith from sitting on him when he had stretched the length of the couch. But these days also provided him with the excuse to bring a little gift over to fill Keith’s apartment, to help it feel even more like a home-- and perhaps the selfish reason to ensure Keith has a piece of him in his life. He’s already brought Keith some succulents that now sit in his front window, as well as pictures that Arlo and Caspian drew for him, which are now hanging on the fridge, and even the dog toys he had bought Kosmo when he had to watch him were spread out across the floor. Lance smiled every time he saw them; it felt like Keith was accepting him into his life. It may be an entirely unconscious decision on Keith’s part, but Lance liked to think this was leading to something more. For now though, he would enjoy their for movie nights.

The movies they had been watching tonight-- had been because he wasn’t sure either of them were really watching anymore, more like fighting to stay awake-- were action packed at Keith’s insistence. But no action scene could capture Lance’s attention like Keith’s expressions could, especially when Keith’s eyebrows were pulled low over his dark eyes that darted around as they followed the characters on the screen, or how his lips would twitch when the protagonist took a blow; Lance just couldn’t look away, not until his body forced him to.

And while his body was telling him it was late, everytime he glanced at the clock he was reminded it wasn’t even midnight yet. He laments when he could stay up until two in the morning easily, but here he was yawning on Keith’s couch with the clock telling him it was only 10:42pm. But at least he wasn’t the only one struggling.

Lance glanced over at Keith, who was beside him with no blankets of any kind on him, holding onto his claim that his oversized sweatshirt was enough; however, half way through the movie, he had tucked his legs up inside of it, so Lance knew the truth. Tonight, the only goal Lance had was to stay up later than Keith; he couldn’t be the first one to fall asleep. But that goal was becoming harder by the minute, though, luckily, Keith didn’t look to be faring much better, his head bobbing occasionally as his eyes slipped closed, and afterwards, he would jerk upright and shake his head as if chiding himself. Lance had to bite his lip to contain the noises threatening to escape him each time.

It was moments like these that Lance found himself cherishing, moments where Keith was just _Keith_. He wasn’t alert to others around him, he was just existing. Lance wanted to get to know this man beside him, and he learned the most in these moments. Keith was a man of little words, but he put his whole self in his actions, whether he was aware of it or not, and that’s what made him so endearing, whether he was listening seriously to Caspian explain why he doesn’t like grapes, teaching Arlo how to throw Kosmo’s ball as far as he can, or forcing himself to stay awake for Lance’s sake.

When Keith’s eyes seemed to flutter closed for the last time, Lance sighed and sunk into the couch, letting out a soft smile. This was nice. Just coexisting with Keith was nice. Lance let his own eyes closed but not before he memorized the here and now; the feeling of Kosmo’s fur under his fingers, the soft evening of Keith’s breath as he was pulled into sleep, the smell of the air freshener, light and fresh, on the air, and the warmth that surrounded Lance inside and out.

Sleep came for him quickly, but at least he had beat Keith.

 

He awoke slowly, his senses coming back gradually, but Lance’s sleep muddled brain was confused as to when he had redecorated. His walls had definitely been a blue, not a beige, and his bed didn’t have black sheets. He rolled over, a hand slipping off the side of the bed, and pressed his face further into the pillow, enjoying the minty smell embedded into it. Then he opened his eyes, and in the low light, saw that there was a picture of him and Keith on the bedside table, both frozen mid-laugh in a moment Lance couldn’t identify-- there were too many it could possibly be-- but he felt his lips stretch to match his smile in the picture.

This was a nice dream, he concluded.

His eyes slid back closed, willing the dream to continue forward. He imagined the bed dip behind him, then an arm settle at his hip, lazily wrapping around and pulling him closer. A nose cuddled up to his neck next, and he imagined he could feel a smile pressed against the skin there, his warm breath making Lance’s toes curl. He rolled over again, into a warm body, hands snaking through hair...

A wet nose on his cheek jerked him into full alertness. Before him Kosmo was wagging his tail happily, a dull thump against the bed, and his tongue was lolling out of his mouth, which was level with his face so his doggy-breath hit him directly.

Lance sat up suddenly, his face hot at his realization. Kosmo started licking the exposed skin at his hip, and Lance forced himself not to return to the fantasy, so he quickly threw off the covers and swung his feet over the side of his bed-- no, Keith’s bed. He was in _Keith’s_ bed. He froze, glancing around the room once more, and pinching himself just to be sure he wasn’t dreaming. Nope, it was all real.

The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on the couch, not the bed. So how had he ended up here? Keith must have moved him, that was the only plausible explanation. Lance sucked in a harsh breath as he imagined Keith carrying him in his (strong) arms so Lance wouldn’t wake in the morning with a need to go see a chiropractor immediately. It was as cute as it was embarrassing.

Also, where was his shirt? Lance stood up; it was too early for all of this. He needed his coffee.

After finding his shirt a bit messily folded on the dresser, he exited the room, running a hand through his hair to flatten any wayward strands. He was pleased to find the smell of coffee on the air, and he quickly made his way into the kitchen with Kosmo at his heels.

Keith had his back to him and seemed to be buttering something, but he glanced over his shoulder at Lance, offering a small smile that had Lance’s heart fluttering. Coffee, now.

To get to the coffee machine, Lance had to scoot past Keith and he took care in making sure no part of him bumped into Keith’s ass. Luckily, he made it without incident, and hummed happily as the dark liquid splashed into the mug. He only sipped it once he put his personal additives in, turning the liquid the color of sand, and he sighed heavily through his nose as he drank. He felt the sleepy haze disperse as he drained half his cup.

“Hey,” Lance grunted around his cup.

Keith’s lips quirked, but his eyes never left his task. “Hey.”

“Want some coffee?” His eyes traced Keith’s profile, then around to where his unkempt hair was pulled back. _Cute_.

“Sure, but only if you think you can handle my order.”

“Oh, bring it on!” Lance straightened with determination, setting his cup down onto the counter loudly.

“Black.” Lance blinked. “I drink my coffee black.” So, he had heard right.

But Lance was frozen staring at Keith’s amused expression, the quirk to his lips and light in his eyes. So, this was the expression Keith made when he making a joke. Lance leaned back against the counter lest his knees grow weak.

“Did I break you? Is that too much for you to handle?” What did Lance have to do see that damn smirk every morning?

“You know what, hotshot,” Lance finally said, pulling himself together. “There is so much I could say but, no comment.” Lance turned around and filled another mug.

“Yep, I definitely broke you.”

Lance smiled; he could get used to this easy banter. He set the mugs down on the countertop, skirting around Keith to sit on the stools on the other side. He had a _great_ view from there.

“So, what is the chef making for breakfast?” Keith snorted when Lance called him ‘chef,’ but picked up the plates and set one down in front of Lance as his answer.

Lance stared at the plate.

“Oh my _god_ , Keith.” That smug smirk was back on Keith’s face.  “You think you’re so funny.”

“It’s time for you to realize this can be a proper meal.”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh, full bellied, because he could tell Keith had worked so hard on the Nutella waffles sitting before him, all so he could prove a point, and Lance loved it.

“I only said it wasn’t an acceptable _dinner_. But, fine, you win.” Lance picked up one of the waffles and bit into it, smiling at Keith’s satisfied expression.

Keith leaned on the counter across from him, biting into his own Nutella waffle, seeming to savor each bite. How was this man real? Lance tried really hard not to stare, but it was like there was some magnetic force surrounding Keith that just always drew his gaze to him.

Lance was still wondering why Keith had given up his bed for him, but the atmosphere was too comfortable for Lance to bring that topic of discussion up, so he let it go. Not that he really needed an explanation; Keith was kind, even though he probably wouldn’t say that was a trait he had if asked, and that was the basis for all his actions. Keith, Lance had realized mere weeks after their first meeting, acted without thinking, so everything he did came from instinct and heart, so his actions told exactly who he was as a person.

Perhaps that’s why he always felt comfortable around Keith, because he was genuine, he knew who he was and what he wanted, something Lance admired.

“The boys slept over at Shiro’s last night, right?” Keith spoke up, wiping some Nutella from his lip.

“Yep,” Lance swallowed the last bite, “they were very excited to watch Coco with Stella, show her all the, and I quote, ‘cool stuff about our culture.’” Keith smiled and dumped their plates in the sink as Lance continued. “It’s actually a really cute movie, we should watch it some time.”

“You cried during it, didn’t you?”

Lance gasped. “How dare you assume-” Lance cut off when he saw Keith wasn’t convinced, his bravado leaving him. “Fine, I did. But once you watch it you’ll understand!”

Keith chuckled. “I’m sure I will.”

“Oh, and Caspian is convinced that Kosmo is a spirit guide. You’ll also understand that once you watch the movie.”

“Next Saturday, then?”

Lance smiled and carried the mugs over to the sink. “Sounds good.”

 

***

 

“I found a job,” Keith spoke up one day while walking to the park with Lance and the boys, something he was making a habit of.

“Oh yeah? That’s great!” Lance smiled, an arm reaching out to tug Arlo away from the street. “Where at?”

“It’s with the rescue group that I got Kosmo from.” At the mention of his name, the dog’s ears perked up and he glanced over his shoulder at Keith. “I’ve been keeping in touch with Kolivan, the man who runs the organization, and he offered me a job.”

Lance caught the small smile on Keith’s lips and knew immediately he was excited about this opportunity. He was probably glad to have something to do, something to work towards, as Keith was never one to sit still.

“So, you’re going to be out saving animals now, huh?”

“That’s the idea.”

“Good, you need something to do. You’ve seemed more restless than usual.”

“Uh, thanks?”

Lance laughed. “It’s not a bad thing! I just meant that you like to have something to do, so I’m glad you found this.”

“I am too.”

Lance’s attention was taken from Keith when Caspian tugged on his pants, holding out a flower (aka dandelion weed)-- the fourth one today-- which he accepted with a smile.

“Can we put it in a vase when we get home?” Caspian asked excitedly. He has taken a sudden interest in plant life and Lance currently has many dried leaves and flowers, as well as rocks, spread across the dining room table.

“Sure thing, buddy.” Caspian ran off with a wide smile, and Lance tucked the dandelion behind his ear, not wanting it to get crushed in his pocket. He turned to find Keith watching Caspian and Arlo running ahead with a soft smile.

“Don’t worry, Mullet, I’m sure you’ll get at least three by the end of the day. Kosmo too.” Lance watched the wind catch at Keith’s hair and make it dance. “Maybe we’ll get enough to make flower crowns.”

“Bet I can get more flowers than you,” Keith smirked, a challenge in his eyes.

“Oh, you wish. As of now, it’s four to none.”

Keith didn’t look particularly worried, and Lance was going to show him he was wrong.

Caspian and Arlo took up the challenge as well, getting quite enthusiastic about it too. They excitedly presented their collection to Keith and Lance, then once everyone had enough flowers, Lance showed them how to make their own flower crowns, something he used to do with his siblings all the time.

He laughed when Keith kept pulling too hard, breaking the stems instead of tying them, but eventually he got the motion down. Caspian unsurprisingly took to it easily, as he was usually intuned with more delicate work, where as Arlo had less patience and liked to get everything done quickly, so, like Keith, he struggled for a bit until something clicked.

In the end, they all walked home in their flower crowns, consisting mainly of dandelions and clover, and even Kosmo had a flower chain around his neck. Caspian and Arlo had also retrieved sticks they were using as swords to ‘fight the bad monsters.’

Lance bumped shoulders with Keith on the walk home, though that eventually dissolved into a competition on who could hit harder, and it ultimately ended with Lance flying into some nearby bushes. But it was worth it to see Keith trying to hold back his laughter while mumbling out an apology.

 

***

 

Lance liked to think he got along with everyone, it was a gift of his; however, there was one person who rubbed him the wrong way. Lotor Galrion. And everyone knew it.

 

_Allura and Shiro:_

“And his _hair_ , Allura, have you seen it. It’s so, so _white_.” Both Shiro and Allura wear matching deadpan expressions, an eyebrow raised and mouths in a flat, unamused line.

“What’s wrong with white?”

“Nothing,” Lance quickly amended. “You two can pull it off, no doubt about that, but Lotor-- Lance’s nose wrinkles every time he says that name-- just _can’t_ ,” he finished lamely.

Okay, he hadn’t thought that argument through completely, but he had plenty more to win Allura and Shiro over.

...Alas, he did not; they just didn’t understand his struggles.  

 

_Hunk and Shay:_

“I know he has it out for me,” Lance said, words slightly distorted by the fluffy pastry in his mouth. “He gets this smirk on his face every time our gazes meet.”

“Uh, that’s called smiling and he’s being polite?” Hunk offered, glancing over whilst kneading a big chunk of dough.

“Why don’t you take him some pastries, Lance?” Shay piped up. “That’ll really throw him off his evil plans!”

“Darn you guys and your too-good-for-this-world hearts,” Lance grumbled, taking another unnecessarily large bite of his doughnut.

 

_Pidge and Romelle:_

“Could you hack his twitter for me?”

“I have more important things to do,” Pidge replied, eyes never leaving her computer screen and fingers never pausing their typing.

“But Piiidge,” Lance batted at her, not unlike a cat.

“If I didn’t know of you infatuation with one Keith Kogane, then I would think you were obsessed with this guy.”

Lance gasped. “I would never give away my time to someone so, so-” Lance made an unintelligible sound when no word came to mind.

“You’ll definitely win Keith over with that intelligence.”

“That’s what Caspian and Arlo are for,” Lance waved her off, plopping back against the couch with a defeated sigh. “You sure you won’t hack his account for me?”

Pidge was silent for a moment, seeming to be on the edge.

“Guess I’ll just go ask Matt, since he’s the superior sibling.”

Finally, she sighed. “Oh, you are evil. But fine.” Lance grinned in triumph, but hid it in the couch cushion. “Also, I’ll have you know that I beat Matt’s hacking record by 2.45 seconds. And I’m going to double that right now. Who’s superior now?”

The rest of the night was spent discussing with Romelle-- a fellow gossip-- what exactly he should post.

 

_Keith and Krolia:_

At least he had some support on his side about this. And he took full advantage of it.

“Lance, you must observe for any weakness, so when he attacks, you can bring him down swiftly,” Krolia said sternly, fist thumping against the table to emphasize her words.

Beside her Keith was frowning-- the thinking frown-- but nodding along to his mother’s words. “And maybe wear a knife on your hip, just to intimidate him.”

“Keith! I work at an elementary school!”

So, maybe their advice wasn’t the best, but the support was nice.

 

Lotor was a teacher at the elementary school Lance worked at, and while he was fine with the kids, obviously, Lance had to fight off chills every time Lotor’s gaze landed on him. Lance being an aid at the school meant he would occasionally have to help the teachers, like Lotor, in their classrooms from time to time. And today, he was assigned to Lotor. Apparently, his class was doing some sort of project that required another adult’s assistance. So, Lance took a deep breath before entering the classroom, reminding himself to ‘kill him with kindness’ as Hunk and Shay suggested, and not ‘a knife’ like Keith had encouraged. He was sure Keith had only been joking anyway, mostly. He plastered a smile on his face as he stepped inside, eyes immediately locating the man in the purple sweater.

“Lance, I’m glad you’re here!” Lotor called from across the room, that too-sharp, in Lance’s eyes, grin on his face. The man was already covered in a myriad of paint colors, but that didn’t lessen the unease pooling in Lance’s stomach.

Lance offered a weak smile then quickly distracted himself with helping the kids at the closest table, who were all painting their faces instead of the paper before them; however, he did feel the icy cold of Lotor Galrion’s gaze still on him. This was going to be a long day.

 

***

 

“Keeeeith. Keeeith.”

“Yes, Lance.”

“Do you know why I’m sad today?” Lance sighed dramatically, deflating onto the table, arms stretching across to grab at Keith’s hands. However, Keith evaded him by grabbing his mug of coffee with both hands and lifted it to his lips.

“Why, Lance?” Keith replied, seemingly disinterested. His pinking cheeks gave him away though, and Lance smirked; it was all going according to plan.

“Today is usually the day I do yoga with Allura, buuut,” Lance drew out the word, giving Keith the best puppy-dog stare he could. “She has to take a hiatus because of the bun in her oven. Not by choice, of course, Shiro has had to stop her many times, reminding her she shouldn’t overexert herself.” Lance snorted. “I think that’s just her retaliating the fact that she can no longer find comfort in her wine.”

Keith snorted into his cup, but said nothing else, so Lance continued, rising up and settling his chin on a hand, fixing Keith with an innocent stare.

“But I digress. The point being, I need a partner. And I want you to be that partner.”

Lance couldn’t help but smile when Keith choked on his coffee, letting out a single cough as his cheeks reddened.

“At yoga, I mean.”

He could practically see the internal argument in Keith’s eyes, so Lance decided to give him some more incentive.

“I bet I’m better at it than you~” Lance sing-songed, rising from his chair and stretching, nice and slow, sighing as the tension was released from his muscles.

He heard Keith set his mug down with a thunk, and Lance glanced back with a sly smile to see Keith already in the living room where Lance had already set up their matts. He knew Keith would fold to his evil ways because he would have done the same thing. Great minds think alike.

“Fine. But you owe me something in return.” Keith called over his shoulder and Lance smirked; he was going to have some good food for Allura on their next gossip outing.

“Deal. _Flameo_ , Hotman!” Lance cheered. He heard Keith snort from the other room. “Oh, you totally got that reference! I’m putting that as your new contact name.”

Lance’s routine was no different from what he did with Allura, and while he would have loved taking a seat on the couch and watch Keith contort his body, he took this very seriously. At least he still got to hear Keith grunt and huff when a position worked his muscles too much, but overall, Lance was impressed with Keith’s flexibility and strength, though he wasn’t surprised. Have you seen this man?

Still, this had Lance living the fantasy of this being every morning for him, which almost made him melt into a puddle. It only got better when Caspian and Arlo joined them, climbing under them and hanging off of them in the beginning before attempting to copy the positions-- Lance took them through the simpler ones-- and praised them when they got it right.

The room was filled with their giggles and Keith’s breath and Lance’s swelling heartbeat. Lance didn’t want to give this up. But everything must come to an end at some point.

“Keith? Are you here?” Krolia’s voice filtered from the foyer, and Lance bent himself in half to see her walking into the room with Kosmo at her hip. She was wearing a tank and her skin was sweaty; were all Kogane’s ripped? But when she caught sight of them she raised an eyebrow, her mouth quirking in amusement.

Meanwhile, at the sound of her voice Keith had promptly lost his balance and tumbled head over heels, feet hitting the coffee table they had pushed aside to make room. Caspian and Arlo burst out into giggles and copied his flip, splaying out in their backs. Kosmo made his rounds, licking every person in the room as his greeting, swiping the sweat off their faces.

“Hey, Krolia! Just doing some yoga!” Lance greeted with a wide smile, winking at the woman who shook her head and chuckled. “Wanna join?”

And that’s how Lance ended up unintentionally hosting a yoga class. Maybe he could get others to join in next time; Pidge was always boasting about how her small stature was to her advantage, and Lance wanted to see if that held true in yoga.

 

***

Today was a big day for Lance because today was a big day for Hunk. He was going to propose to Shay. To say Lance was ecstatic was an understatement; he felt like he had been vibrating all day.

Currently, everyone was gathered at Hunk’s house, waiting for Shay to come home from the bakery. The cake she had made earlier that day-- completely oblivious to the fact it was actually for her own engagement-- was sitting on the table, Hunk having gotten it here under the guise he was delivering it, which technically he was.  

Hunk had considered choosing a more personal venue for such an act, talking explicitly with Lance about many ideas, however, he decided he wanted everyone their because they’re family. He knew Shay would want them all there too for this next step of their life as well. Besides, Lance and Allura had booked a reservation for just the two of them to go out to Sal’s, the nicest restaurant in town, later that night.

Everything was perfect, and Lance constantly reassured Hunk, who was sweating profusely, that she was going to love it, because she loved him.

“Hunk, my man, my buddy, my bro. There’s a reason Shay has stuck around for so long, a reason she agreed to open that bakery with you, and it’s the same reason she’s going to say yes tonight. She loves you, there’s no doubt about that. You guys are sweeter than anything you can bake. I should know, I was there when you met her and I’ve seen your relationship progress to this moment.” That statement hit Lance as hard as Hunk, and they both stared at each other in silence for an emotional moment.

“Thanks, man,” Hunk smiled, pulling Lance into a hug. Just then the sound of a car door shut and the announcement was made, everyone but Hunk running off to hide until the reveal.

“Showtime, big guy,” Lance smirked, shooting Hunk finger guns.

Hunk nodded, collecting himself and straightening his clothes and hair, face the epitome of determination. Then he turned towards the doorway, blocking the sight of the cake until Shay comes closer. There was the sound of keys in the door and then it swung open, Shay stepping inside and flicking on the lights. She paused when she caught sight of Hunk standing in the middle of the kitchen, but immediately smiled.

“Hunk, I thought you were on delivery?”

“I am,” Hunk smiled. Shay tilted her head, but hung up her coat and moved to give Hunk a hug and a kiss.

When she pulled away, Hunk stepped aside to reveal the cake she had completed earlier, and she made a noise of confusion, eyes widening as she recognized the cake. “Wha-- Hunk?”

While her attention had been on the cake, Hunk had knelt behind her, retrieving the ring from his pocket. Everyone heard the moment Shay realized what was happening, her gasp and watery chuckle echoing in the silent apartment. Then a resounding _yes!_ as bright as the sun was heard and everyone jumped out, giving their congratulations.

Shay was so surprised she let out an _oh_ at the appearance of everyone, then greeted each of them with a beaming smile, chuckling when Allura and Romelle and Matt immediately crowded around her hand to see the ring; Pidge was hovering behind them, not wanting to seem too interested, but Lance knew better.

The only reason Lance wasn’t crowding around as well was because he had gone with Hunk as support while he picked out the ring. It was simple but beautiful; a gold band inlaid with pale blue gems that seemed to glow, the largest centered while the smaller ones circled it. Hunk had also gotten the sides engraved with the saying the couple used often: be kind, love much.

Lance sniffed, eyes locked on the matching grins both Hunk and Shay wore. He has seen them grow so much and _dammit_ , Lance was not going to cry.

“I think that’s the happiest I’ve ever seen them, and that’s saying something since they always seem happy,” Keith whispered as he stepped beside Lance, who took a deep breath to collect himself.

“Yeah,” his voice still sounded a bit choked, so he cleared it, “yeah, this is a special moment, as it would be for anyone. But I’m just glad this went perfectly for Hunk, he was so nervous.”

“Why? They’re obviously meant for each other.”

“That’s what I said!” Lance laughed. “I was constantly reassuring him throughout this entire process; Hunk doesn’t usually second guess himself, but that just shows how much this meant to him.”

“You helped him plan this?”

“Oh yeah. I’ve was there when they met, so Hunk came to me with all his ideas, needing help to narrow it down.”

“Lance,” Allura appeared at his side, grabbing ahold of his arm and his attention. “We need to give them our gift!” And with that Lance was dragged away, sending an apologetic look Keith’s way, but the man was just shaking his head and chuckling at their retreat.

Hunk and Shay loved their gift, Hunk wrapping Lance up in a tight hug, then Allura. And the rest of the night was cake and laughter filled.

 

***

 

The time between the holiday season and the beginning of the new year was always odd, like Lance was just floating around awaiting for the signal to reboot and start a new year. This year was no different, except Lance felt an itch under his skin to jump the gun and make a dash into the new year because he had a feeling that this year would bring something exciting. What that was exactly, Lance couldn’t be sure, but he could make a guess. Or even better, he could act on that guess and make it a reality.

Lance glanced over to where Keith was leaning against his kitchen counter, a cup clutched in his hand while he talked with Shiro, an easy smile on his lips. That was what he wanted his future to hold, Lance was certain of it, and the new year meant new beginnings and he was going to capitalize on it.

“Papa, stop staring at Keith and play with me!” Arlo stomped beside him, tugging on his shirt. Lance instantly bent down and scooped the little man, as Hunk sometimes called him, up, blowing raspberries on his cheeks that had the child squealing.

“Are you going to make it up until midnight tonight, bud?” He asked once Arlo calmed down.

“Yes, papa. I’m a big kid,” he puffed up proudly.

Lance couldn’t help but chuckle, “Of course, you are!”

Then he set Arlo down and allowed himself to be tugged into their playroom, where Stella was attempting to tame Caspian’s curls. Caspian seemed unbothered by the force Stella was using to untangle his strands, repeatedly blowing the noise maker they had forced Lance to distribute early. His hands were moving as if he was conducting his own song, and he smiled wide, the noise maker almost falling out of his mouth but snagging on his bottom lip, when he caught sight of Lance.

“Papa, sing while I play!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands in excitement.

Lance settled down across from his, and Arlo jumped into his lap. “Sure, but only if Arlo helps me out.” He glanced at the boy who was situating himself, digging his elbows into Lance’s thighs as he got comfortable, and Arlo nodded at him, his dark eyes going serious with determination.

“What song will it be?”

“Whatever,” Caspian waved a dismissive hand, attention returning to his noise maker and blowing out an erratic rhythm.

Lance bobbed his head to the beat as best he could, getting a feel for it, then started spouting out the most random words that came to mind. Arlo was following along like an echo, head bobbing in exaggerated motions as well.

At some point Coran had popped into the room and effortlessly joined in, playing hype man for Lance, until Lance let him lead the next song-- Caspian didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Stella had finished manipulating Caspian’s hair, having wrestled it surprisingly well into two curly spouts, similar to how Stella’s longer hair was tied back; however, she missed a couple strands up front that were curling over Caspian’s forehead. She was now spinning around in place with a stuffed animal, Fred the lion, held out in front of her. Coran joined her, doing an exotic jig in place while still singing.

The whole thing was quite the production, and Lance loved it, laughing loudly and clapping along in sync with Coran’s movements. He wasn’t sure how long they had been going on until Caspian ceased his blowing and stood, then bowed and exited the room. They all watched him go in silence.

“Well, that was riveting! I can feel my blood pumping,” Coran exclaimed. “You are a lovely dancer Stella, and I hope to have the pleasure to dance with one of such talent again.”

“Of course,” Stella said in a very proper voice, bowing as someone of royalty would. Lance chuckled.

“Stella, teach me how to dance like you!” Arlo struggled out of Lance’s lap, so he gave the kid a boost. Then Lance and Coran left the two in piece to join back up with the party.

Lance was greeted by Pidge, who crashed into his arms, making him stumble in surprise. She climbed up him until she was perched on his shoulders. Kosmo appeared a moment later and paused before Lance, glancing up at Pidge and cocking his head. Pidge hissed, actually hissed.

“Leave me alone!” She said, pointing down at Kosmo, who only jumped to lick her hand, which she jerked back. “He won’t stop licking me!” She explained to a thoroughly confused Lance.

Lance blinked. “Ah. That means he likes you.”

“Well, there are plenty of other people he can bother with his affections and leave me in peace.”

“He probably just wants to make sure you’re okay, since you are about the size of the kids and he’s pretty protective of them,” Lance smirked.

“I will murder you in your sleep,” Pidge hissed. “But if you get him to leave me only we’ll call it even.”

Lance shrugged, eyes watching Caspian toddle into the room, half of a cookie in his hands. Easy. “Kosmo,” the dog’s ears perked up, “go get Caspian!” Lance pointed towards his son. Kosmo followed it and Lance swore the dog smiled when he caught sight of Caspian, and rushed towards him.

“No!” Caspian yelled when he saw Kosmo bounding towards him, and stuffed the rest of his cookie in his mouth, cheeks puffing up. Kosmo, undeterred, licked the crumbs off his face, then the kids hands. Caspian giggled once he swallowed, hands rubbing all over Kosmo in an attempt to push him back, but Kosmo was relentless.

“Disgusting,” Pidge grumbled, though Lance detected some fondness in her voice. Then she climbed down and disappeared before Kosmo could stop her escape.

Lance shook his head in amusement and continued into the kitchen, his original destination. Coran handed him a drink as he entered and he examined it dubiously.

“Don’t worry, my boy, it’s not Nunvil,” Coran said, twirling his mustache. “I keep that for myself since you youngins don’t know what’s good.”

“Coran, I thought my skin was literally going to melt off my body when you made me try that.”

Coran waved him off. “It boost the immune system! Anyways, that there is your favorite!”

Lance took a sip and confirmed this, smiling in relief. “Thanks, Coran.” Then he spun around and slid into a seat at the table, beside Shay and across from Keith with Hunk and Allura occupying the other two chairs.

“Ten bucks Hunk is asleep by eleven,” Lance smirked at his best friend over the rim of his cup. Hunk let out an affronted gasp.

“Twenty,” Shay chimed in.

“Betrayed, betrayed by my best friend and fiance.” Hunk placed a hand over his heart. “Oh, I like how that sounds,” Hunk smiled at Shay, who blushed.

“You two are disgusting,” Lance said not unkindly.

“I think it’s sweet! Reminds me of Shiro and myself back when he proposed to me,” Allura sighed dreamily.

“Ugh, at least Hotshot will agree with me.” Lance turned to Keith, who only offered a shrug.

“Unbelievable. I host this party and you can’t even support me on this?” Lance sniffed.

“Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll be just as gross one day,” Hunk chuckled, and Lance felt a pang go through him. He drowned it with another gulp of alcohol, eyes flicking over to Keith from behind the rim of his cup. The man was staring firmly into his own drink.

“Ten minutes until the ball drops!” Coran called, and Lance was thankful for the interruption. “Everyone to the living room!”

Everyone settled throughout the room, and the kids came running in, chased by Matt and Pidge. Lance was tackled by Caspian, and Keith was tackled by Arlo, something he didn’t seem prepared for because he had to throw out an arm to keep them from tumbling backwards. Shiro quickly grabbed his drink so it wouldn’t get spilled, only handing it back to Keith once Arlo was happily settled. Stella was sitting in Pidge’s lap, talking animatedly about something. He was surprised the two still had this much energy.

Lance smiled down at Caspian, who was looking more sleepy than the other two, tightly hugging his lion, and staring at the television.

“Why are there so many people?” He asked quietly.

“Because it’s a celebration, a party.”

Caspian settled back down with an ‘oh,’ staring intently at the tv and all the people yelling and cheering. Lance chatted idly until the countdown started, then everyone began counting down with the voice on the tv as the ball slowly descended. Caspian was watching with wide eyes, enamoured, as were the other kids.

When the ball hit the bottom the room erupted into cheers, Allura pulling Shiro into a kiss, and Shay grabbed Hunk. Pidge, Matt, and Romelle were blowing noise makers and Arlo and Stella were jumping around. Lance could hear fireworks in the distance and smiled, glancing down at Caspian, but he found the boy was asleep on his shoulder. Of course, he was.

Lance stood and quickly took him to his room so the ensuing party wouldn’t disturb him. He gently took out his pigtails, and ruffled his hair, leaving a kiss on his forehead and turning to head back to the party. Except his way was blocked by a certain long haired beauty, and Lance held back a gasp.

“Mullet?”

“You, uh, still owe me for doing yoga with you last week.” His voice was quiet and his arms were crossed as he leaned against the door frame.

“What did you have in mind?” Lance watched as Keith’s eyes darted around the room, and he could see the blush on his cheeks even in the low light.

 _Oh_ , Lance smiled, having an idea as to where this was going. At least, he hoped he was reading this right. So, he took a brave step forward, Keith eyes still eluding him, until he was right in front of Keith.

“It’s a new year, Keith,” Lance whispered, and Keith’s eyes finally snapped up to him. “Anything could happen, or nothing. That’s the great part, you can choose how your life proceeds. So, what do you choose?”

Keith tilted his face up a fraction, so their gazes could meet and their breaths mingle. Though Lance wasn’t sure how much breathing he was doing at the moment. Time seemed to slow as he searched Keith’s eyes for his thoughts; his body was completely attuned to the man before him.

Then it broke when their lips connected and Lance melted against Keith, his hands coming up to grasp his shoulders, Keith’s on his chest, twisted in his shirt-- he had probably pulled Lance forward.

When they seperated Lance let out an elated giggle, head lightheaded with the swirl of emotions. Keith was smiling as well, a good sign, and Lance tucked his head into his neck, squeezing him hard.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for an excuse to do that,” Keith whispered, hands still loosely gripping Lance’s shirt.

“I bet I’ve been waiting longer.” Lance pulled back to throw a wink at Keith, who chuckled and shook his head.

“Everything’s a competition with you.”

“You like it.”

“I do.” Keith bit his lip. “So, what now?”

Lance stared at where his teeth worried his lip. “I’m going to kiss you so we’re even, and then we go back to the party and talk about this later.”

Keith smirked, and the rest of the night passed like it was a dream for Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie, it finally happened! Here's my New Years' gift to you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter; next chapter I'm thinking Lance's family is going to be brought into the mix- how are they going to react to Keith?! Also, I think my favorite part to write this chapter was the Hunay proposal- they're so wholesome and I love them! Also, I know some things seemed short (Keith's new job and Lotor) and they'll play in later, just wanted to introduce them. Anyways, stay safe and have fun tonight guys! Here's to the new year and new beginnings!  
> update: I changed Kosmo's pronouns to he/him bc he's male in the show, and the continuity of that into this fic pleases me. It's not a major change, but just though i'd let you know.


End file.
